New tunnels, flyover for airport roundabout upgrade

Infrastructure Malta (IM) is upgrading the Gudja roundabout to a multi-level intersection with two tunnels and a flyover to improve access to the Kirkop Tunnels, Gudja, Malta International Airport and Malta Freeport.

The works are currently underway.

The Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project (KTAIP) includes the redevelopment of this critical junction of the Maltese road network to reduce travel times and accident risks for those travelling through the Kirkop Tunnels to and from Kirkop, Mqabba, Qrendi, Żurrieq and Safi. It will also improve access to Malta International Airport and the main route to Malta Freeport, two strategic locations for several sectors of the Maltese economy.

The Gudja roundabout is a crossroads of several arterial roads, including L-Avjazzjoni Avenue, to and from Luqa, Marsa and Qormi, Dawret ilGudja Road, towards Gudja and Għaxaq, Ħal Far Road, to and from Ħal Far, the freeport and Birżebbuġa and L-Ewwel Titjira Road, which links the roundabout to the Kirkop Tunnels. It also includes Il-Karwija Road, leading to the airport.

This project will transform the roundabout into a grade-separated intersection with direct connections to and from the different routes converging at this junction. At the lower level, two new tunnels beneath the roundabout will create a direct link between the southbound and northbound carriageways of LAvjazzjoni Avenue and Ħal Far Road. These tunnels will allow road users, including heavy vehicles, travelling to and from the airport, Birżebbuġa, Malta Freeport and Ħal Far Industrial Zone, to bypass the roundabout, IM said.

At grade, the existing roundabout will be redesigned to facilitate access to and from Gudja and Għaxaq. The existing bypass lane for northbound travel from the Kirkop Tunnels to L-Avjazzjoni Avenue will be improved to reduce journey times along this route.

The third level of the intersection will incorporate a new flyover bridging the southbound carriageway of L-Avjazzjoni Avenue with L-Ewwel Titjira Road, towards the Kirkop Tunnels.

Drivers heading to Kirkop, Mqabba, Qrendi, Żurrieq and Safi will no longer need to go through the roundabout to get to the Kirkop Tunnels.

By channelling three of the routes currently connected through the roundabout to the underpass and overpass lanes, Infrastructure Malta hopes to reduce roundabout conflicts and the resulting collision risks and waiting times for the thousands of road users who use this junction every day.

Through the KTAIP, Infrastructure Malta will also be developing more facilities for alternative modes of travel, including new footpaths and improved public transport amenities. The project also comprises new cycle routes that will complement the cycle lane opened at L-Avjazzjoni Avenue last year and the cycling and pedestrian overpass that the agency is currently constructing along the same thoroughfare. The roundabout’s new design will include facilities for safer pedestrian and cycling crossings.

This week, Infrastructure Malta submitted the project plans to the Planning Authority, to set the required permitting process in motion. The authority will eventually publish these plans for public consultation and for further studies. In the meantime, the agency will soon issue a call for offers to engage the road building services required for this new junction. This investment may be co-financed through the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility.

The project is scheduled to begin in 2020 as part of Infrastructure Malta’s ongoing optimisation of the arterial road network for better road safety, reduced travel times and increased sustainability. This year, the agency has invested €64 million in more than 14 arterial road upgrades. They include the first flyovers of the Marsa Junction Project, the reconstruction of Buqana Road, Tal-Balal Road, Luqa Road, Qormi Road and San Tumas Road, the development of new pedestrian and cycling overpass structures at Blata l-Bajda and L-Avjazzjoni Avenue, and Malta’s first segregated bi-directional cycle track at L-Aħħar Ħbit mit-Torok Road, between Żabbar and Żejtun.