The road from Naxxar to San Gwann, Triq tal-Balal, will not only be getting a third lane, but a fourth one as well, The Malta Independent on Sunday has learnt. The fourth lane had originally been planned as a future upgrade but the contractors have been given the go ahead to proceed with the works.

The extra width needed to accommodate an additional lane is expected to lead to a larger area of private land being expropriated.

The Tal-Balal widening project, announced by Transport and Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg at the beginning of August, proved to be controversial because the work started before a planning permit was in place. Road works do not usually require a permit if the same footprint is retained, but in this case the project is encroaching on adjacent land due to the widening needs.

The Planning Authority told this newspaper last week that the planning permit had finally been filed. The plans are still being processed, but are being prioritised “in view of the urgency of the project, citing national road transport requirements and improved access to the nearby Mater Dei Hospital and the University of Malta”.

The government said that the 1.9 kilometre road had exceeded its capacity many years ago. 

Shortly after the project was announced, contractors started dismantling the road’s central strip to make way for a new road alignment.

Since then, new retaining walls have been built, to accommodate the new lanes.

According to details released by the transport ministry some weeks ago, the rebuilding of Triq tal-Balal was to include the widening of the entire 1.9 kilometre road to add a new third lane in the southern carriageway, from Naxxar to San Gwann. 

The project also includes the upgrading of the road’s four roundabouts, new bypass lanes and increased approach lanes. A new street lighting system and improved crash barriers will also be installed once the new central strip is built.

Infrastructure Malta claims that through this investment, travelling times through this road are expected to be reduced by up to 30 per cent. It also says that the improved flows will lead to reduced vehicle emissions in the area.

Sources have confirmed that Infrastructure Malta has now given the go ahead to the contractors to proceed with additional works, which were originally being planned as a future upgrade to the same road, to widen the northbound carriageway with a second lane as well.

This means that the road will now have two lanes in each direction, not two in the direction of San Gwann and one in the direction of Naxxar.

 Additionally, the project will now also include a new pavement along most of the route between Naxxar and San Gwann. The new pavement was added to the project following requests from residents in nearby residential zones, including Birguma in Naxxar.

Pedestrians walking between these two localities currently have no safe footpath they can use to walk along this road. 

The updated plans for the four-lane road have already been submitted to the Planning Authority. The roadworks are now expected to take a few weeks longer than originally planned, due to the additional work involved in building the fourth lane and the pavement, the sources explained.

This newsroom was told that the decision to build the fourth lane now was taken to avoid disruption in the area again in the next few years. “Moreover, by increasing the road to four lanes, it will remain functional without exceeding its capacity for many more years,” the sources said.

The Malta Independent on Sunday was also told that the extra lane will lead to a larger area being expropriated. Some owners of properties in Triq tal-Balal have seen plans showing what part of their land will be taken up by the project. It seems that no expropriation notifications have been issued so far.