Infrastructure Malta is introducing two new dedicated lanes connecting the Marsa Junction next to the Addolorata Cemetery to Qormi through Triq il-Gvern Lokali, which has just been rebuilt as part of the Marsa Junction Project.
As from tomorrow morning (Saturday, 20 October), the new lanes of Triq il-Gvern Lokali will be the only access to Qormi (Triq il-Marsa) from all northbound (Paola to Valletta) roads converging at the Marsa Junction. Road users are encouraged to follow the temporary yellow direction signs being placed at different parts of the junction and nearby roads, to mark the new route to Qormi from Triq il-Gvern Lokali.
Road users travelling northbound to Qormi from Vjal Sir Paul Boffa (Corradino, Paola), Vjal Santa Lucija (Tarxien, Santa Lucija) and Triq Giuseppe Garibaldi (Luqa) will need to use the two lanes through Triq il-Gvern Lokali, by the Public Lotto Department offices and the Government Printing Press, to reach Triq il-Marsa (next to Turkish Cemetery). Triq il-Gvern Lokali will also temporarily connect Triq Giuseppe Garibaldi to Triq Aldo Moro, towards Valletta, until a new direct connection is developed through one of the seven flyovers being built as part of the third phase of the Marsa Junction Project.
Before it was closed to be reconstructed earlier this year, Triq il-Gvern Lokali linked Triq Giuseppe Garibaldi’s northbound carriageway to Triq Aldo Moro. Road users travelling through this road had to stop near the Government Printing Press and give way to oncoming vehicles from Triq il-Labour, Vjal Santa Lucija and Vjal Sir Paul Boffa, before entering Triq Aldo Moro towards Valletta or Qormi. Through the road upgrades being completed this week as part of the second phase of the Marsa Junction Project, the two northbound lanes of Triq il-Gvern Lokali will be directly linked to two dedicated lanes, one towards Triq il-Marsa and another to the new northbound lanes of Triq Aldo Moro, towards Valletta and Santa Venera.
The second phase of the €70 million Marsa Junction Project is nearing completion in the coming weeks. Infrastructure Malta will launch the third phase, which includes the building of the seven flyovers, before the end of this year.
The first phase of the €70 million Marsa Junction Project, including the demolition of two old factories to make way for the project, 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 of Triq Aldo Moro to a ten-lane road formed part of the second phase, which started in February.
Works on site included the development of the new lanes, pavements and cycle lanes in Triq Aldo Moro and Triq il-Gvern Lokali. Beneath these rebuilt roads, the contractors also developed several networks of new underground distribution systems for water, electricity, sewage and telecommunications services. The new roads are being reinforced with stabilising layers of geotextile and geogrid that reduce the impact of subsurface water infiltration and increase the structures’ lifetime by strengthening the road foundations.
The Marsa Junction Project includes the construction of new roads, a seven-flyover multilevel intersection, pedestrian pathways, bicycle lanes, park and ride facilities, landscaped areas and other developments to upgrade the busiest node of the Maltese road network. The project aims to drastically reduce travelling times and congestion emissions in this area by replacing the existing complex traffic lights system with 12 kilometres of new uninterrupted lanes connecting the different routes converging at this junction.
The project is being implemented in several phases to minimise difficulties to road users. Alternative routes and other temporary measures are being made available when the existing ones need to be temporarily closed for road works. New lanes are being opened as soon as they are constructed to facilitate existing vehicle flows even before the project’s flyover structures are developed.
The Marsa Junction Project is co-financed through the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility.