Luqa northbound carriageway completed

The transport authority said the traffic management scheme in conjunction with road reconstruction works along Civil Aviation Avenue, in Luqa, will be further upgraded as from Monday.

Traffic from Hal Far, in the direction towards Luqa, will be diverted towards the Kirkop tunnels and back in the direction of Civil Aviation Avenue while traffic from Council of Europe Street, Luqa, in the direction of the air passenger terminal will be diverted to Gudja Road, Gudja bypass.

Route bus numbers 32, 35, 34, 138 and 38 from Valletta will be diverted to Council of Europe Street, Luqa, down towards the roundabout junction at Garibaldi Street, Gudja Road and Gudja bypass, and the roundabout junction at Civil Aviation Avenue from where buses will proceed as per standard practice.

Route number 8 in the direction of Valletta will, after entering the airport, be diverted to Il-Karwija Street and Gudja terminus.

A spokesman for the Ministry for Urban Development and Roads said that all major infrastructural works on the northbound carriageway were completed about a fortnight ago with the laying of the wearing course - the bottom-most layer of asphalt. The remaining two layers of asphalt will be laid as the project enters its final stages next month.

The reconstruction of the northbound carriageway was the more technically challenging phase of the project as it involved the laying or shifting of a myriad of service infrastructures running under it.

Works on Civil Aviation Avenue started on March 28 and had a planned duration of about 20 weeks, with completion expected at the end of August or beginning of September.

This will be the first EU co-financed road project to be completed of the six that are underway. Some €1.2 million are allocated under the EU's Cohesion Fund Programme for this aim.

Work is now focusing on the southbound carriageway and the roundabout near Malta International Airport. The storm water system for the second carriageway will be completed this weekend. This will be followed by the construction of the pedestrian walkway and the formation of the road's foundations.

Particular attention is being paid to the landscaping aspect of the project. The designs in fact include a considerable amount of soft areas along the sides of the road as well as two large reservoirs that will make irrigation of these areas possible throughout the year.

Discussions with the Environmental Landscapes Consortium to integrate the landscaping of these areas into the programme of works of the project are underway.