Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg yesterday met councillors from the Mellieħa Local Council in his ministry to explain and discuss the plans being made for the improvement of the Mellieħa bypass (Triq Louis Wettinger). This is a result of the Minister’s own decision as he felt that a plan which had been approved in the past, needed to be revised to avoid difficulties which would have negatively affected those who use this road, including those travelling to Gozo and Mellieħa residents in the area.
The Minister confirmed that we will soon see the start of a €2 million project so that the road becomes safer and more efficient. The project will include the redesign of the bypass which will retain two lanes on either side without taking any virgin land so that existing difficulties which increase the risk of accidents are removed. The road will be safer thanks to a central strip with new crash barriers between the opposite carriageways as well as a system of lights so that the road does not remain as dark as it currently is.
Minister Borg expressed his commitment to continue implementing a long-term plan so that our country can achieve the highest quality transport infrastructure with less journey delays, less pollution, and a lower risk of accidents.
Plans for the new design of the Mellieħa bypass - planned several years ago - included the extension of Triq l-Iżbark tal-Franċiżi, an existing residential road which currently stops at a dead end, so that it can be connected to another residential road, Triq il-Mitħna l-Qadima, and becomes more accessible. The land between these two roads, which used to house two quarries, is a residential building development zone. This land also includes the site where apartments are currently being built.
The original plan also included the removal of one of the four bypass lanes as a security measure. This removal was not linked to the extension of Triq l-Iżbark tal-Franċiżi but with technical limitations in another part of the same bypass. In fact, other parts of this bypass as well as other areas in the route between Mellieħa and Ċirkewwa have already been reduced to three or two lanes in the past years, when they were rebuilt as part of a project financed by the European Union.
The residential road currently being built by the developer of the apartments at the site which used to house one of the quarries, is not a service road but a public residential road which forms part of the extension of Triq l-Iżbark tal-Franċiżi. When the permit towards the development of the apartments was awarded, the developer was also asked to form part of this residential road which connects to his building. The rest of the road, until the existing part of Triq l-Iżbark tal-Franċiżi, will be built when the adjacent lands are developed by their owners.
A few weeks ago, the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects asked Transport Malta to reconsider the original plans for the rebuilding of the bypass with the aim of retaining the four existing lanes. In fact, after the plans for the road were revised, the Authority’s architects confirmed that the bypass can be improved to have several security measures, such as crash barriers, without being narrowed to three lanes. The Minister informed the councillors that lighting will also be included in this bypass - another measure which will help improve the safety of this road.
Minister Borg concluded by encouraging the councillors to explain this project to the residents so that they can have peace of mind knowing that their worries were listened to, so much so that in a positive way, this difficulty has been transformed into an opportunity of investment in higher quality infrastructure, with better safety and efficiency for those using the road.