First phase of the Marsa-Ħamrun Bypass project nearing completion
Works being carried out on the Marsa-Ħamrun Bypass as the first phase of this €5 million project nears completion, Transport Minister Ian Borg said yesterday.
Speaking during a visit to the site, Borg said the project would mitigate one of Malta’s most notorious bottlenecks.
The first phase, initiated in March, would be concluded in the coming days, when the new lanes, which would be widening the bypass to three lanes in each direction, would be surfaced, he said.
The project would improve traffic efficiency and improve safety, he said, stressing that part of this added safety included the construction of 1.7 kilometres of new pavement and pedestrian facilities at the sides of this road.
In the coming months, during the second and final phase, the two lanes from the first phase would temporarily replace the existing southbound carriageway of this road so that this could be rebuilt and improved, he said, and also explained how one of these new lanes would eliminate the existing bottlenecks at the Santa Venera tunnels exist, while in the northbound direction, the third lane wold facilitate a safer connection as it will eliminate the need to switch lanes to access the Mrieħel Bypass slip road.
The second phase will include the rebuilding from scratch and movement of the road’s central strip and the upgrade of a number of junctions along the northbound carriageway to improve connections with Triq Diċembru 13, the Mrieħel Bypass, and the Santa Venera tunnels in this direction.
The project is expected to be completed in April 2019, but the minister announced that work was being done so that the six bypass lanes could be opened to road users by the end of the year.
He said the project aimed to improve this arterial road which connects the centre of Malta to the south and which is part of the Ten-T Network. He explained that the first phase, initiated in March, will be concluded in the coming days, when the new lanes, which will be widening the bypass to three lanes in each direction, will be surfaced.