Plans to change the direction of traffic in Eucharistic Congress Road in Mosta are being shelved until the works on the Kappara Junction project are completed, it has emerged.

Mayor Edwin Vassallo handed the proposal to Transport Minister Joe Mizzi last week.

According to the mayor, while the minister welcomed the proposal and ordered more studies on the change, he wanted to wait for the Kappara Junction works to be completed before giving the go-ahead for the change.

Works on the €22.4 million Kappara Junction project started in April and are expected to be carried out in phases stretching well into next year.

Shop owners in the area were the first to welcome the move, as it could boost sales, but residents were not convinced

Before any changes are made, the minister and the mayor also agreed that roundabouts at Mosta’s main junctions needed to be upgraded.

Mr Vassallo said that he agreed with Mr Mizzi that the traffic change needed to be studied further and said that the council would be using the time to come up with the optimum solution.

He urged residents to come forward with any suggestions.

The idea to switch the traffic direction has been discussed for years but no action was ever taken. However, with the locality increasingly becoming a commercial hub, the council revived the issue and organised public consultation.

The proposal is for traffic heading out of the square to go through both ends of Main Street, while those heading into Mosta would pass through Eucharistic Congress Road.

Reactions to the council’s proposals have been mixed, with some agreeing with the move and others rejecting it completely. Shop owners in the area were the first to welcome the move, as it could boost sales, but residents were not convinced, claiming the increase in traffic would negatively impact their lives. Some residents even filed a petition against the move.

Plans to change the direction of traffic in Eucharistic Congress Road in Mosta are on hold. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier