New temporary lanes and traffic lights at Marsa Junction next week

Next week, Infrastructure Malta will be making major modifications to the traffic lights at the Marsa Junction and all the roads leading to them, to allow for the construction of the first two of the seven flyovers that form part of the Marsa Junction Project.

The agency is currently making preparations for the start of the third phase of this €70 million infrastructural investment. In the next few days, Infrastructure Malta will be closing some of the existing lanes and opening temporary new ones. It will also switch off and move the existing traffic lights controlling the busiest junction of the Maltese road network to make space for the pillars of the flyovers. A road map showing the new temporary routes, which will remain in place for several months, can be viewed on Infrastructure Malta’s social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The main changes in the southbound direction (from Marsa to Paola) include:

Marsa to Corradino

The southern section of the southbound carriageway of Triq Aldo Moro (next to the former Malta Shipbuilding site) will be narrowed from four to two, which will lead to Vjal Sir Paul Boffa only, towards Corradino, Paola and the Three Cities.

Marsa to Santa Lucija, the airport and Qormi

Two new temporary lanes opening up to four lanes, will connect the southbound carriageway of Triq Aldo Moro to Vjal Santa Lucija (towards the Santa Lucija roundabout and Triq tal-Barrani), Triq Garibaldi (towards Luqa, Gudja and the airport) and Triq il-Gvern Lokali (Government Printing Press) towards Triq ilMarsa (Turkish Cemetery) to access Qormi. These temporary lanes are being built on the site of the two old factories that were demolished as part of the first phase of the project.

New lanes to the airport and Qormi

An additional two temporary lanes are being opened in the grounds of the parking area next to the Addolorata Cemetery to connect the northbound and southbound carriageways of Vjal Santa Lucija with Triq Garibaldi (towards Luqa, Gudja and the airport) and Triq il-Gvern Lokali (towards Triq il-Marsa, the Turkish Cemetery area and on to Qormi). Road users travelling southbound from Triq Aldo Moro will need to head towards Vjal Santa Lucija and use these new temporary lanes to reach Triq Garibaldi or Triq il-Gvern Lokali.

In the northbound direction (from Cor- radino and Santa Lucija towards Marsa), road users will continue using the same lanes, but some changes will apply:

New traffic lights

New temporary traffic lights will be erected in Vjal Santa Lucija’s northbound carriageway, next to the entrance to Addolorata Cemetery. They will replace the existing ones at the Marsa Junction crossroads.

Santa Lucija, Corradino to Qormi:

Road users travelling from the south of Malta towards Qormi through Triq ilGvern Lokali (Government Printing Press) and Triq il-Marsa (Turkish Cemetery area) will need to take the new temporary lanes in the parking area next to Addolorata Cemetery, by turning left as soon as they drive through the new traffic lights in the same area.

Infrastructure Malta is placing roadside signs and destination road name markings along the routes of the Marsa Junction to help drivers become accustomed to the new lane arrangements.

By the end of next week, once this new traffic arrangement is in place, Infrastructure Malta will cordon off the area of the closed lanes and nearby sites to launch the third phase of the Marsa Junction Project. This phase will commence with the excavation and laying of foundations for the pillars of the first two flyovers. These include two interconnected bridges to link Triq Aldo Moro with Triq Garibaldi. Eventually, these structures will also lead to a third flyover in the direction of Vjal Santa Lucija.

The first phase of the Marsa Junction Project, including the demolition of the two old factories to make way for the new road structures, was completed earlier this year. The reconstruction of Triq il-Gvern Lokali, Triq Guze Gatt (the northern end of Triq il-Gvern Lokali) and the widening and rebuilding of Triq Aldo Moro to a 10lane road formed part of the second phase, completed last month.

The Marsa Junction Project includes the construction of new roads, a seven-flyover multi-level intersection, pedestrian pathways, bicycle lanes, park and ride facilities, landscaped areas and other developments to upgrade the busiest part of the Maltese road network. The project aims to dramatically reduce travelling times and emissions due to congestion in the area by replacing the existing complex traffic light system with 12 kilometres of new, uninterrupted lanes connecting the various routes converging at this junction.

This project is co-financed by the EU’s Connecting Europe facility.