More than half the work planned for December 13 Road in Marsa has been completed and a two-way road through Dock 7 will be opened for traffic to alleviate congestion.
Transport Minister Joe Mizzi said yesterday the closed southbound carriageway on December 13 Road was being reopened but only to take traffic heading north to Valletta.
The northbound lane, which was open for traffic until yesterday, has been closed, so southbound traffic will still have no access through December 13 Road. However, a two-way road through Dock 7 at Marsa Shipbuilding will be open as of Monday to ease traffic.
Architect Audrey Testaferrata de Noto said this temporary road would be open on weekdays from 6am to 9.30am and noon to 6pm for cars headed towards Cottonera, Żabbar, Kalkara, Fgura and Paola.
The €7.5 million project started towards the end of 2011 and was expected to take just under a year
Traffic should proceed towards the Menqa roundabout junction, Triq Belt il-Ħażna and Xatt il-Mollijiet to Dock 7 in the direction of the roundabout junction at Paola Hill.
When roadworks at Corradino industrial estate are completed, vehicles from Dock 7 would proceed towards Triq il-Baċir.
Cars headed to Żejtun, Birżebbuġa, Marsaxlokk, Għaxaq, Kirkop and Gudja, and all heavy traffic headed southbound should continue driving through Triq Salib tal-Marsa (near the Marsa parish church) and Triq Aldo Moro.
The same route, but in the opposite direction, should be taken for those headed to Valletta.
The €7.5 million project started towards the end of 2011 and was expected to take just under a year. The authorities later said it would be finished in 2013 following a revised programme taking all delays into account. Earlier this year, Transport Malta told Times of Malta the project would be completed by the end of next February. Mr Mizzi said 54 per cent of the project was completed and he was pressing the contractor to finish the works earlier.
When the Government came to power it found the work was stopped in November for no reason, risking losing €5.5 million in European funds, he said.
In March, a Transport Malta spokeswoman told this newspaper that works had been suspended in November as the project’s scale and sensitivity meant they could not be carried out during winter. Asked about this, Mr Mizzi questioned the frequency of bad weather this past winter.
He also referred to “shoddy roadworks” at Melita Street, in Valletta. Infrastructural work began again yesterday, less than a year since completion of a similar job.
Paving between Republic Street and Old Bakery Street gave way and was in a dangerous state.
The Government said the contractor could no longer be held accountable, adding that expenses would exceed €100,000.
The issue had been raised in Parliament when former Transport Minister Austin Gatt said he was aware of it and the Public Works Department would tackle it.