The seemingly perennial traffic problem in Malta has, throughout the years, sparked heated debates as well as White Papers, plans for tunnels, bridges and monorails.

But it is not so well known that, in the 19th century, the British authorities had commissioned a detailed plan to turn Valletta into a water-bound island.

A plan issued from the Department of Public Works in February 1857 depicts a proposed canal and tunnel between Marsamxett and Grand Harbour.

The map, which only exists in two private collections, focuses on the area stretching from Marsa to Pietà. The line of the proposed tunnel (see image) is marked ‘A-B’.

Towards the bottom of the plan, there is a sectional view of a 274-metre tunnel, with an open canal of around 366 metres to its left and an open canal stretching some 320 metres to the right.

Another map dating from 1872 portrays a plan of Valletta and its harbours. The plan was found attached to a petition letter dated March 27, 1872 from Mr J. Scott Tucker to the chief secretary to the government, giving the outlines of a project for a ship Marsa-Pietà canal connecting Grand Harbour with Marsamxett Harbour.

The plan has two vignettes at the top corners, the corner on the left showing a view of Fort St Angelo while at the right corner the view of Fort St Elmo. In this plan, the position of the proposed canal is indicated in red colouring while the rest of the map has been crudely hand coloured.

Interestingly, Mr Tucker suggested a slight detour to the canal indicating an alternative line which would facilitate the manoeuvring of ships into the canal.

An 1872 plan of Valletta and its harbours. The proposed canal is indicated in red.

In his book A City by an Order, Roger de Giorgio explains that Italian architect Francesco Laparelli, who designed the capital city in the 16th century, favoured a dry moat in preference to a wet ditch. This stemmed from the fact that, in terms of military strategy, Laparelli preferred an aggressive and offensive form of defence where the defenders would be encouraged to harass the enemy outside the limits of their fortress whenever possible.

Italian architect Francesco Laparelli, who designed the capital city in the 16th century, favoured a dry moat in preference to a wet ditch

Water in the ditches made prisoners of the defending garrison while a dry ditch called for a large fortress and a numerous garrison.

This would explain why Laparelli never mentioned in his notes a ditch into which seawater would have flowed from both sides of the peninsula.

The defensive aspect of the new town was obviously programmed to take precedence over its use as a centre of habitation, which would have required different kinds of buildings and public services to be provided during the initial phase of the works.

Architect Edward Said explains that canals were all the rage in 19th century England.

A number of plans were proposed at the time by William Reid, governor of Malta in the 1850s, with proposals including excavating a canal for steam-operated barges at the base of the Valletta ditch from Lascaris to below the Phoenicia hotel.

“Marsa and Pietà seem so much farther from each other than they truly are. Land is very precious in Malta – I am all for underground.”

Andy Whibley, who runs a water taxi business in Vittoriosa, hailed the idea of a canal connecting the two harbours as “brilliant”.

“It would be perfect for us. We can’t go beyond the breakwater as it gets too rough. Such a canal would open up a new route for us plus increase connectivity towards Msida and Sliema,” Mr Whibley said.