Works to shore up bypass retaining wall

Reinforcement structures are being built to strengthen the retaining wall below the St Paul's Bay bypass which, when completed, should result in the reopening of the road.

The room-like structures, technically known as fin walls, are going up after the planning authority approved an application filed by the transport authority which had doubts about the strength of the wall.

The wall had been constructed to prevent any further landslides after part of the road collapsed in 2000. But the southbound carriageway of the bypass has been closed since as a precaution and the transport authority will not open it until it is convinced that it is completely safe to do so.

The fin walls are located on a site belonging to Polidano Brothers, who had filed an application for the construction of a three-storey car park not exceeding the height of the retaining wall in 2007. The permit is still pending.

Since there was a pending application for garages, Mepa has allowed the transport authority to build the fin walls in the form of garages, just in case Polidano Brothers are given the green light.

In 2002, the developers had requested permission to build a language school but its use later changed to an elderly people's home. This was refused because the building was going to rise above the level of the bypass.

In 2002, the area was outside the development scheme but this changed after the local plans were set down in 2006. The only area that has remained in an outside development zone is the green strip of land between the bypass and the retaining wall. However, residents in the area insist that the whole site is outside scheme and are considering legal action.

After the site collapsed nine years ago, Mepa auditor Joe Falzon had compiled a 45-page report lambasting Mepa for its failure to take meaningful action against the developers and insisted that the latter be made to restore the area to its original state at their own expense.

Despite several enforcement notices, the report had pointed out, the authority had never stopped the developer, who was allowed to do as he pleased.

A Mepa spokesman said the authority would come in line with the report's recommendations as soon as the fin walls are completed - the transport authority wanted to be 100 per cent sure the wall was safe.

The report's author, Mr Falzon, had said the authority would come in line once the green area was fully embellished and the area made safe.