The St Paul’s Bay bypass was re-opened to traffic yesterday evening, bringing to an end a project that took more than a year to complete. Deadlines established for the opening of the road since the project began, the latest one being on Mnarja Day last week, were not met, but now the road has really been completed and is once again open to traffic.

The rebuilding of the bypass, at a cost of EUR6.5 million, is the fourth arterial road project that was carried out with funds made available from the European Union. The first three were the Hal Far Road, Civil Aviation Avenue in Luqa and San Lawrenz Road in Gozo.

The road in Ghajnsielem will be completed shortly while the work on Manwel Dimech Bridge is yet another project that will be partly funded by the EU.

The 45,000 square metre road is considered to be an important artery in the road network as it links the north to the south, and forms part of the TEN-T European network.

The reconstruction of the bypass will have a positive impact on the northern part of the island, particularly when one considers that it is linked directly to tourist areas such as St Paul’s Bay, Bugibba, Qawra and Mellieha, and is also the road many people take on their way to and from Gozo, Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett said yesterday.

The 2.7km bypass was reconstructed from scratch, with the work starting in June last year.

The Malta Transport Authority (ADT) over the past weeks has been working hard to try to solve the issue over the part of the same road that collapsed a few years ago. An agreement has been reached with the contractor involved who will now be carrying out part of the reconstruction work at his own expense.