Part of Coast Road to have four lanes

Driving along part of the Coast Road should become easier in view of plans for a 7.2-kilometre stretch to be realigned and widened into a four-lane road with cycle lanes and footpaths.

The plans to transform the road form part of the European Ten-T project and the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) had originally applied with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to widen the Coast Road in August.

If approved, the road between the English Cemetery in Pembroke and the St Paul's Bay roundabout, also known as Erba' Mwieżeb, would be widened from the present two lanes to four, have a centre strip, cycle lanes and footpaths, an Infrastructure Ministry spokesman said.

The project was still in its early stages. The ADT had yet to draw up the project description statement that would outline the project and any environmental studies required, the spokesman said.

On the ministry's request, the ADT revised plans for the road in order to minimise the impact of the widening while keeping in line with transport considerations submitted by a French consultancy firm.

The Coast Road is a well-known black spot for traffic accidents - including fatalities, especially when drivers attempt to overtake. At least six accidents were reported in the media over the past six months, which left one person injured.

LifeCycle Challenge cyclist Clifford Micallef was run over and died soon after he was hit by a car driven by 21-year-old Anthony Taliana in July. Mr Taliana has been arraigned and charged with manslaughter.

Mr Micallef's death highlighted the lack of well-planned cycle lanes, which, according to cyclists, were unkempt, not maintained and not continuous, full of glass shards, rubble and empty boxes.

The Ten-T project is 80 per cent EU-funded and involves the reconstruction of 14 kilometres of roads and the widening and reconstruction of a further 12.4 kilometres of roads from single to double lanes.

In addition, €12 million will be spent on works related to deviation routes, works on adjacent roads and services.