The tests are being carried out by French and German engineers on the initiative of the European Union.

Malta Transport Authority chairman Charles Demicoli yesterday said the engineers concluded that the bridge was oscillating but have assured the authority that it was not in imminent danger of collapsing.

It however had certain defects which had to be arranged, Mr Demicoli said.

As a result, the authority issued a call for expressions of interest to evaluate what had to be changed and whether it was viable to

perform these changes.

Asked to elaborate on this he said it might be more cost-effective to pull down the bridge and rebuild it. This would guarantee that the new bridge would last 100 years. Repairs on the existing structure would mean that the current bridge could only be used for the next 10 years, Mr Demicoli said.

In view of the development, the ADT was increasing the speed limit by 15 kilometres per hour to 45kph, “which is a pretty decent speed”. In addition, he said the road cannot be used by vehicles which weigh between 30 and 40 tonnes. He said “speed cameras will ensure that the speed limit is observed”, but The Malta Independent can reveal that the cameras to be installed today do not detect speed.