The opening of a footbridge over the Mrieħel bypass has slipped by a month, with Transport Malta now saying it will be completed by the end of this month.

Last April, the Transport Ministry told this newspaper the bridge spanning the main thoroughfare was to be completed by the end of June.

Works on the bridge had been proceeding at a steady pace before they came to a complete standstill a few weeks ago.

However, a spokesman for Transport Malta justified the delay:  “The project was slightly delayed to avoid closing Mrieħel bypass for traffic when the road was serving as a diversion route or being used by other projects.”

Bridge will be operational by the end of July

He did not elaborate but said the bridge will be operational by the end of July. When completed, the bridge will be accessible through stairwells and lifts on both sides of the road.

“In the coming weeks, the contractor will be installing the architectural screen, vertical connections and elevators,” the spokesman said.

The company building the overhead footpath will have exclusive rights to use the bridge surfaces for advertising as part of a 20-year concession agreement reached with the government.

The advertising space started being used in May, soon after the horizontal structure across the road was put in place.

Works on the bridge were estimated to cost some €1 million and had to be financed by the company that was awarded the project, Steel Structures Ltd. The private company is expected to recoup the investment from the advertising.

The Mrieħel bypass bridge was an electoral pledge made by the Labour Party in the wake of a fatal traffic accident in 2005 when two girls were mowed down as they crossed the road to return home.

The girls lived in the residential area on the industrial estate side of the bypass, which was cut off from Qormi centre when the road was built in the mid-1990s.