No date yet for start of bridge repairs

The Malta Transport Authority is not yet in a position to advise motorists precisely when Manwel Dimech Bridge in St Julians, one of Malta's busiest thoroughfares, will be reduced to a single carriageway in the €6 million bridge repair project scheduled to start some time next month.

The ADT said it was still waiting to hear from the consortium entrusted with carrying out the job. Architects Robert Zerafa and Mario Ellul said yesterday that the southbound bridge would be closed once work gets underway. Single-lane traffic will flow in both directions on the northbound bridge.

Mr Zerafa, who is in charge of the construction operation, said the authority was pressing the contractor - a consortium led by an Italian company - to submit a work schedule so it can determine exactly when sections of the road will need to be closed.

He said several reports on the necessary road diversions have been compiled. Motorists will be urged to use other roads if possible, and although certain tailbacks are to be expected, the diversions aim to reduce stationary traffic.

The bridge upon which work is taking place will be supported by scaffolding.

An additional lane will be added to each side of the bridge in order to provide improved access to Spinola. The entire project will take about a year to complete.

The bridge, installed in 1971 with a lifespan of 35 years, was deemed to require extensive repairs when a French engineering society had reported dangerous oscillations during a series of inspections in 2004.

The government had immediately slapped a speed limit of 45 kilometres and placed a limit on the weight of vehicles using the bridge in an attempt to reduce the oscillations.

A spokesman for the Roads Ministry explained that the German-led consortium König Heuninch und Partner KHP - which won a tender to inspect the bridge and come up with a solution for the problem - found that while the pylons were in a relatively good shape and could be rehabilitated, the decks needed to be replaced.

Three quarters of the project's costs will be funded by the European Union.