Roads reopened after €10m rebuild

Two major arterial roads were officially reopened yesterday after a huge investment to upgrade them as part of a larger network improvement.

The work on Council of Europe Road in Luqa and Garibaldi Street in Marsa, which carry a lot of traffic to the airport, cost €10.5 million and took a year to complete.

Strict regulations are in place to guarantee the quality of the work, since 85 per cent of the investment came from European Union funds and the rest from the central government.

The project forms part of the €60 million Ten-T Network, which includes works at Xatt l-Għassara tal-Għeneb in Marsa, Triq il-Marfa, Ċirkewwa, Triq l-Imġarr from Xewkija to Victorja in Gozo, the Penellu Bypass in Mellieħa and the underpass in Triq Diċembru Tlettax, Marsa.

The two roads were unofficially reopened for traffic more than a month ago but the final finishes and landscaping works were still being carried out, the Ministry of Infrastructure said in a statement.

All the work done has to be independently tested and only after quality performance tests were done and dusted could transport Malta issue compliance certificates.

If problems arise from shoddy workmanship, leading to parts of the roads not being certified, the contractor will be held responsible with the work being redone or have money deducted from the final sum owed, the Ministry said.

Speaking at a press conference, Minister Austin Gatt said that the work on Xatt l-Għassara ta’ l-Għeneb in Marsa was concluded while Triq il-Marfa, Mellieħa was slightly behind because of the weather in winter, but it was expected to be completed in September.

Mġarr Road in Victoria is meant to be reopened on July 4, while work on the Penellu Bypass was going ahead as scheduled and that on the underpass in Triq Dicembru Tlettax had unfortunately fallen behind because of archaeological finds which were being investigated by the Cultural Heritage Superintendence.