Infrastructure Malta said today it is laying the surface of the new southbound carriageway of Triq Aldo Moro so that it can be opened to road users this weekend.

The new four-lane carriageway of this arterial road, in the direction from Valletta and Marsa to Paola, was built last month as part of the second phase of the Marsa Junction Project. The final asphalt laying works were scheduled for last week, but had to be postponed due to bad weather. 

The first asphalt layer started being laid early this morning, at 0200hrs (Tuesday 6 November) whilst the second and third courses will be applied at night tomorrow and on Thursday. The three temporary lanes that are being used to travel southbound will be completely closed at 2200hrs tomorrow (Wednesday, 7 November 2018) and at 2100hrs on Thursday (8 November 2018). On both days, the three lanes will be reopened by 0500hrs the following morning, reducing difficulties to road users during the day.

Road users travelling along this route tomorrow and on Thursday night will be diverted to a signposted alternative route through Triq Troubridge and Triq ix-Xwieni, in Albert Town, Marsa. Roadside parking along these two roads will be prohibited to facilitate vehicle flows. Police and Transport Malta officials will be stationed in the area to guide road users in difficulty.       

The southbound carriageway of Triq Aldo Moro started being rebuilt last month. The new northbound carriageway, comprising six lanes, a footpath and a cycle lane, was constructed in summer. This carriageway is currently being used as temporary lanes in both directions.

The new carriageways’ foundations were reinforced with stabilising layers of geotextile and geogrid that reduce the impact of subsurface water infiltration whilst increasing the structures’ lifetime. The underground water, electricity and telecommunication distribution services beneath the road surface were replaced and upgraded for future capacity before the new foundations were built.    

The first phase of the €70 million Marsa Junction Project, including the demolition of two old factories to make way for the project’s flyovers, was completed earlier in 2018. 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 and is being completed this month. Infrastructure Malta will launch the third phase, which includes the building of the seven flyovers, before the end of the year. 

The Marsa Junction Project includes the construction of new roads, a seven-flyover multilevel intersection, pedestrian pathways, cycle 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 Marsa Junction Project is co-financed through the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility.