Updated 6 Sept - Added video

Two more trees are to be uprooted next to the Lija cemetery to facilitate traffic in the area, Transport Malta has confirmed. 

The trees ended up rooted below the pavement followed road works and the narrowing of a pavement to try to ease traffic flow in a project where holm oak trees were controversially removed from the same area last July.

A "very small number of trees" will be removed from the area under the direction of the relevant authorities, Transport Malta said, adding this would be done with the guidance of a biodiversity consultant engaged by the authority. 

"Where possible, trees that need to be removed from the site will be re-planted in other areas. In addition, for every tree removed, a number of other new trees will be planted in other nearby areas, in collaboration with the relevant authorities and entities," TM said when contacted.

Transport Malta said it is currently engaged in a number of projects aimed at improving traffic flows and reducing the risks of accidents in major junctions.

Over 25 projects were launched this summer to start upgrading the quality of the Maltese road networks. Most of these projects are scheduled to be completed within a few weeks.

The ongoing works at Lija form part of a project to upgrade the arterial road and the nearby junction connecting Birkirkara, Balzan, Lija, Iklin, Mosta and Naxxar. Works to develop a new bypass lane for vehicles driving from Mosta towards the Birkirkara Bypass and to re-align the roundabout for improved traffic flows have already been completed.

Transport Malta has now started another phase of this project, to upgrade the roads surrounding the Lija cemetery and to widen Mosta Road, all the way up to the Mosta Technopark roundabout. This road is one of the main links between the central and the northern localities of Malta.