The contractors in charge of the Manwel Dimech Bridge reconstruction project have been ordered to draft a work programme since work has fallen behind schedule, a spokesperson from the Roads and Urban Development Ministry told The Malta Independent yesterday.

The spokesperson said that the work programme has been ordered in order to ensure that the time lost due to a number of hitches will be recovered.

On 21 May, Roads and Urban Development Minister Jesmond Mugliett replied to a parliamentary question put forward by deputy Labour leader Charles Buhagiar, saying that the project is expected to be completed by 10 November.

The contract stipulated that the work on the bridge’s two viaducts should be completed within a year from when the access-to-site notice was issued on 10 October last year.

However, the contract also includes a clause that states that the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) could allow for an extension as long as this would be justified.

Following a request made by the contractors, ADT has so far allowed for an extension of a month, said the spokesperson.

According to the authority’s and the supervisors’ evaluation of the project, certain glitches have caused the work on the bridge to fall behind schedule.

The demolition of the horizontal deck of the bridge took longer than expected, for example. The ministry spokesperson explained that embedded in the horizontal deck were a number of steel cables along the whole bridge. These are normally embedded in purposely-built canals filled with grouting to keep the cables tense.

However, when the demolition work began, it was found that there was not enough grouting and the steel cables were not as tense as they should have been. As a result, this was causing vibrations, so the system and technique with which the demolition work was being carried out had to be changed, said the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the second phase of the casting process, which began three days ago, is expected to continue on Saturday.