At last, Gozo's main road is completely open

Joe Brincat-LL.D

Aug 13th 2012, 13:16

Is it true that the work is being carried out by Maltese workers ? I can say that it is a mixed crowd, when they happen to appear. At Marsa we have been the victims of works by hiccups since January. There are more nationalities than the EU has !

lor Pace

Aug 13th 2012, 08:57

Do not understand.....if its completely ready why does it seem like a meteorite has fallen near xewkija !!!!!! Why do they think that we are all dumb, stupid and blind? If you say the road fro rabat to mgarr is ready then it has to be ready and no detours are expected.

I like the excuse for he delay.....archeological remains is such a good excuse !!!!! Unfortunately when the remains were found all workers where petrified and only a couple showed up each day.

Eddy Privitera

Aug 13th 2012, 07:48

Maria Vassallo: Inkunun nafu jekk ix-xoghol fuq it-toroq hux tal-ghola livell meta jghaddu s-snin sewwa u jibqghu tajbin ! L-esperjenza ghallmitna li t-toroq jibdew juru xquq jew jinzlu f'xi partijiet minnhom, kulltant wara ftit xhur biss, minkejja lil Gonzi kien qal li se jservuna 25 sena !!!!!!!!!!

Maria Vassallo

Aug 12th 2012, 18:53

Work is underway on the rebuilding of the Mellieha Bypass, Marfa Road and the construction of the Marsa underpass. The works are being carried out by Maltese workers to the highest standards.

Are there enough workers for the re-construction of these important roads? I do not think so. European citizens should be invited to give a helping hand complete them in the shortest time possible, if possible by the end of this year. No excuses, please.

What remains now is the installation of crash barriers and signage.
Yes,noted, but when will they be installed.

We need objective answers and immediate action!

Toni Muscat

Aug 12th 2012, 17:35

Are we going to see all these archaeological finds ?

Ted Xerri

Aug 12th 2012, 16:15

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Jekk ma' jsewwux it-treqat igergru - jekk jirranġaw it-treqat igergru. Dik Malta (u Għawdex) għalik. Kieku jien ma' nagħmel xejn, nħalli t-treqat jitkissru u jkollnha narġew nibdew noħorgu biż-żiemel u l-karettun.

Rocco Camilleri

Aug 12th 2012, 10:10

Mela m'nalla li gejja 'SANTA MARIJA' ghax nahseb ma' kienetx titlesta, avolja ghadha mhiex lesta ghax jonqosa l-aktar affarijiet ESSENZJALi - ' SIGNAGE' ( indikkazzjoni fejn se' tiehdok it-triq). Mur arahom lit-Turisti u Maltin issuqu u ma'jafhux fejn se' jispiccaw. Prosett eh eh eh. Din messha tinkiteb fil-Guinea Book of Records !!!! .

mark borg

Aug 12th 2012, 10:08

mur gibhom jaqilghu l-autostrada del sole ...biex 3 km hadu aktar min sena !

Joe Galea

Aug 12th 2012, 09:47

Finished???? No 1, lets PRAY it will last a couple of years. No 2 the manhole covers (tappieri) are already moonivg and banging where over run by vehicle tyres. No 3, street lighting should possibly be increased to at least be on par with the Xlendi Road.

Paul Pulis

Aug 12th 2012, 09:21

".....gaping chasms in a Japanese highway demonstrated the power of the March 11 earthquake.
Now the astonishing speed of reconstruction is being used to highlight the nation’s ability to get back on its feet.
Work began on March 17 and six days later the cratered section of the Great Kanto Highway in Naka was as good as new. It was ready to re-open to traffic last night.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369307/Japan-tsunami-earthquake-Road-repaired-SIX-days-destroyed.html#ixzz23JXXcoMl. That's efficiency

B. Storace

Aug 12th 2012, 09:18

Superficially it might look finished but it isn't quite yet. Manhole covers still protrude a couple of inches; tarmac is not level and one comes across many different levels en route, some of them bone jarring; all flora has been destroyed and not replaced; signposting is non existent; road markings are nowhere to be seen; drain openings are not wide enough and some too high above road level, in other words useless. And, up to yesterday parts of this road were still closed.
Now we await the next onslaught of dust, diversions and general mayhem and that is when they decide to finish what has already been started namely, the last few hundred meters of road from the Gharb - San Lawrence junction, past the entrance to the Kempinski and up to the intersection leading down to Dwejra. What are they waiting for?

Carmel Xuereb

Aug 12th 2012, 06:49

No this road is not finished yet, there are places which need another two surfices near the MMU plant besides the roundabout they did where previouly were the lights is very dangerous because when you are coming from Mgarr to Victoria you don't go round the roundabout because it is straight, very soon we will have a fatality there. Otherwise it seems to be ok although it is not a state of the art. Now after finising this road they need to at least repair the side street that go to this road especially those by the MMU plant because they are very bad and dangerous. Hope they will do this.

A. Sultana

Aug 12th 2012, 04:35

Gozo's main road is completely open, however, what this article fails to mention is the fact that it is not yet finished. The cross road area which links Qala, Mgarr, Victoria and Xewkija still has a couple of more weeks to go. That goes to the area where the Benna factory used to be as well. Not mentioning the fact that it appears that a part of the surfaced road (final layer) will have to be dug up again due to drainage issues.

I do not wanna sound pessimistic about this project as I truly appreciate the effort and funds that went into it and would never want the old road back! However, as a daily driver in this road one cannot but criticize the architectural planning and finish quality of the road.

For starters I still cannot for the life of me understand the reasoning behind the elevation of the Xewkija roundabout. Secondly, the chaos that the main Victoria roundabout (and central strips) have been creating is astounding. I've seen drivers getting confused and going anti clockwise around the round about, motorcycles going wrong way and much much more. This is happening on a daily basis. Something needs to be done immediately as I'm fearing some nasty accidents.Last but not least, why do lanes differ so much in width along the road from Ghajnsielem to Victoria? There seems to be no standard size for these as they are constantly changing.

With regards to finish quality one cannot but notice the poor levelling that went into the roads. If you're driving a car with a slightly stiff suspension one immediately notices the constant bumps. If one walks alongside the road, one can also notice the poor tarmac quality where at some points the tarmac stones are coming off the surface.

My point is, if so much effort, time, public inconvenience and msot of all money is put into these projects, why not put some decent preparation, proper inspection and most of all some thought in them? It totally baffles me.

Patrick Gafa

Aug 12th 2012, 04:14

Well done 3km road took widely over one year ... great achievement indeed. Keep it up with pride. ... If we had a larger island say the size of Cyprus, we'd be using unpaved roads for the next 100yrs with our way of running projects.

Louis Risso

Aug 12th 2012, 03:31

Delays in road constructions happen every where at any given time. I live in Melbourne and at the moment they are upgrading the Western Ring Road. Have been for the four years and still got another two to go. I mean I am talking about a 32 KMS stretch. Now this road was constructed some 16 years ago so you think that they would envasage that the road it was going to be very hard to handle the traffic it goes through it at the time but no, they had to upgrade it very soon, which sometimes makes you wonder if these people do these sort of things as of to keep themselves in a job. So you see it is not just in Malta and Gozo that these things happen it is all over the place. Stop whinging please..........

Patrick Gafa

Aug 12th 2012, 01:43

Well done 3km road took widely over one year ... great achievement indeed. Keep it up with pride. ... If we had a larger island say the size of Cyprus, we'd be using unpaved roads for the next 100yrs with our way of running projects.

C axiaq

Aug 12th 2012, 00:26

hey not competely open!! the roundabout of xewkija is still work in progress! it makes part of the proposed project and there is quite a lot of work left to be done! maybe it was covered with tarmac as Gonzi yesterday visited the island! very funny indeed! He is never let to experience the messy roads we have! he only see artificially!!

Brian Camilleri

Aug 11th 2012, 22:32

I'm glad they finally put a price tag on these works. What the Ministry for Gozo are not saying is that this beautiful new road from Arkadia upwards is going to be used for horse racing this wednesday. The ususal same pathethic way of thinking from the same bunch of people, who are scared to say no to a useless minority just in case they loose a few votes... Get ready residents of republic street, ready for the fould smells of horse urine and dung!!

Anna Borg

Aug 11th 2012, 21:39

Sorry it must have opened some time VERY late this afternoon as we were there today and we had to take a detour as this road was actually CLOSED!!! Just a few meters ahead of where this photo was taken (round the bend) there is a step in the road as the top asphalt hadn't been done yet!

Mr Clayton Mangion

Aug 11th 2012, 21:06

election time......

Vanja Galea

Aug 11th 2012, 20:40

well done PN ... Road are being finally being built on new foundations and not on soil and God knows what.

Konrad Scicluna

Aug 11th 2012, 20:28

Really ? This is news to me as I have just used it.. and had to go through he Nadur roads because the yellow diversion signs are still in place ! Maybe they left them until after the holidays when the roads will be closed again! I will verify that the road is really ready tomorrow when I try going through it and let you know. In the meantime maybe The Times Journalists should take a trip to Gozo to verify certain statements before printing.

pat muscat

Aug 11th 2012, 20:00

Mela tela Gonzi Ghawdex ghall-vaganzi: that's what happened when he was last there...tarmacked road for two days to be dug up again!

David Hill

Aug 11th 2012, 19:50

How long will it be before they close half the road to install the crash barriers and sinage for a couple of months?

John Azzopoardi

Aug 11th 2012, 19:45

Beautiful.

Charles Grima

Aug 11th 2012, 19:05

Well done.... the fact is that roads lately have become excellent (specially main thoroughfares)... but all these archaelogical finds bug me... Just bury the buggers!

It's the same with that hospital at Bulebel! Stopped because of a pair of old skeletons! Who cares? The road is being used as a skip again!

anthony sultana

Aug 11th 2012, 18:50

From the post ofice going to Gharb there is a 1 km that it is not done yet, and it is bad, need to be resurface.

Frans van Avendonk

Aug 11th 2012, 18:37

Well I was in Gozo today and the roundabout near Xewkija was far from ready, yes it is true that parts are open but if you want to go from Victoria to Mgarr there is still a detour.

Ray Camilleri

Aug 11th 2012, 18:33

Oh is it? Why are there persistent rumours going around in Gozo that about a 300m section of the road will have to be dug up again because of problems with the drainage system .Is this true? Are they leaving this for after the feast of St Mary,so that its not bad publicity with the Maltese visitors?I hope some one from TM
comes out to deny this.

Eddy Privitera

Aug 11th 2012, 18:16

tet us pray that this road will not be dug up again in a few days , few weeks or few moths time as has happened to other arterial roads !.

Simon Cassar

Aug 11th 2012, 17:50

yeah..tell us when the new archaeological museum would be open!!!!

joseph saliba

Aug 11th 2012, 17:45

Should thank TOM for the above info. Time for a visit to the sister island.

twanny borg

Aug 11th 2012, 17:45

u ta bormla meta ser issir? ahjar baqgha l-kuntrattur l-antik ghax kieku zgur lesta.

Raymond Borg

Aug 11th 2012, 17:43

I don't know why the Maltese have to always be so negative about everything. Living abroad has been an eye opener and realised that nothing is so perfect in other countries. Our problem is that we have retained the 'colonised' mentality and think that other countries are always better.

John Caligari

Aug 11th 2012, 17:39

Tell us what is the final Bill.

marco caruana

Aug 11th 2012, 17:36

well done PN

Joseph E Briffa

Aug 11th 2012, 17:33

The road surface looks nice in the pic and obviously even nicer to drive on. There is no doubt that the Marsascala Bypass,the Zurrieq. road, Garibaldi, Council of Europe, and the road from Valetta waterfront to Marsa, the Zebbug/Rabat road are excellent roads; in fact I would say that Malta has never had better roads. Well done, but we must not forget about maintenance. Trucks carrying big rocks, concrete mixers etc must be heavily penalised if they drop any material on the road surface, whether it is stone material or engine oil or any other stuff.

Peter Seebohm

Aug 11th 2012, 17:23

Enjoy the new racetrack.
In 6 month it will be different.

T Mifsud

Aug 11th 2012, 17:21

Maltese gemgem to a piece of good news. First enjoy the road then ok to criticise delays

Joseph Micallef

Aug 11th 2012, 17:20

Thank you Ministry for the SUPER LONG DELAYS!!! Thank you for keeping GOZO in desert dust!! Thank you for ruining the income of most of the retail outlets and shops!! Thank you for ruining our cars - suspensions, shock absorbers, linkages, shafts, bearings, steering racks and most of all THANK YOU for punishing us with a shorter lived VRT system now (minnfuq!!). A big and heartfelt THANK YOU for doing your DUTIES!! (to say the least) and for taking a period of time for which other countries would have erected kilometers of bridges on the sea!!!

Marisa Bugeja

Aug 11th 2012, 17:16

Well done for the new roads but what about all the trees that have been uprooted in the process? It seems to be the general trend now and it's no excuse that other trees are planted elsewhere because motorists need trees' shade while driving or waiting in the scorching sun. Some of the trees took years to grow and cannot be replaced by saplings or bushes. Luqa bypass is a case in point; Salina road next, I suppose.

anthony sultana

Aug 11th 2012, 17:14

Maybe it is open, but it is not comletely finish.

Adrian Camilleri

Aug 11th 2012, 17:13

Like all the other people who have posted their incredibly positive and constructive comments - I too want to commend all parties involved for delivering a nicely paved road in Gozo.
It is wonderful to see how us Maltese really come together when our government actually delivers something tangible that we can use. Its great to see how petty provincial concerns play such a small role in people's attitudes towards services delivered to specific localities. Hurrah!

p.s.

While I, like many others, was frustrated at the amount of time it took to finish the road, I freely acknowledge that I know bugger all about architecture or construction and therefore have no realistic basis to complain and will therefore assume that those who built the road did the best they could in the time they took.

Anthony Arpa

Aug 11th 2012, 17:12

Kull bidu fieh it tmiem .... Hawn issa drajna li rari ferm li xi progett jitlesta fill hin .... l'aqwa li alinqas xi darba jitlesta ... u nibdew ingawdu il progett ...

Joseph Stafrace

Aug 11th 2012, 16:58

Marsascala bypass has been hailed as the best example in road building. Good maintance is rather shoddy if not absent at times. The Roads Ministry should note the following: Two electricity poles which have been destroyed have not been replaced, Zebra crossing lights opposite Inspire not functioning, crumbling rubble walls and last but not least fine dust falling from trucks exiting from the Family Park is rendering the road dangerous.

Charles J. Buttigieg

Aug 11th 2012, 16:54

New energy-efficient street lighting? As we speak (1640) all the street lighting at Santa Maria Estate and probably Mellieha too,is already on and will remain on until late in the morning to add heat to the summer sun.

Victor Pulis

Aug 11th 2012, 16:43

The arteries are being repaired albeit at snail speed but the veins, the streets within the localities are still a disaster. A trip from Fgura to Zejtun for example is a nightmare with not one single metre of tarmac free of potholes or bumps. This goes for most of the streets in towns and villages.

GL Calleja

Aug 11th 2012, 16:42

" The works are being carried out by Maltese workers to the highest standards." I really like that statement. I wonder if the same statement can be made of the Mellieha/Cirkewwa project. Let us wait a year or two after the rains come and the heat passes, because so far Maltese roads have been nothing to brag about. This is election talk, now we need real proof. If you are going to do the talk, you must do the walk.

Emanuel. Vella.

Aug 11th 2012, 16:37

kellu bzonn ikollha elezzjoni generali kull sena.

Joe Borg (Senior)

Aug 11th 2012, 16:36

about time

Franco Vella

Aug 11th 2012, 16:35

The road may be open but it is far from finished, Man hole covers jutting out, different levels of tarmac, or is it just a cover up cos santa maria is around the corner??