Works planned to avert collapse of Sliema promenade

The public works department has presented plans to avert the potential collapse of part of the promenade along Fond Għadir in Sliema near the Surfside Lido.

According to a works method statement from the department’s architect, part of the existing retaining wall, built in the 1950s, has been scoured by wave action, posing a potential collapse of the promenade. Moreover, fissures in the rock face beneath the promenade are also of “great concern for public safety”.

In fact the rocky area underneath the damaged rock face has already been hoarded off to keep the public away from this area.

To address this risk the public works department envisages the trimming of the deteriorated rock face, the removal of the damaged wall, and the construction of a new retaining wall to support the promenade along this part of Tower Road. The new wall will be built using limestone blocks which match the existing wall.

The rock beneath the foundation of the promenade at Font Għadir is heavily fractured and soft, and the retaining wall built in this area in the 1950s, was never completely extended to cover the entire fractured cliff-face.

Furthermore, part of an existing wall built to cover the rock face has been scoured by wave action and could potentially collapse during a storm. The orientation of the entire bay also makes it quite vulnerable to wave action from the North-East.

Wave impoundment on the weak rock face and the weak retaining wall is also increasing the pace of erosion of friable rock by hydraulic action and the compression of air when waves crash against the rock face, causing abrasion and attrition. “These cracks and voids could compromise the structural stability of this retaining wall and the promenade above and result in the collapse of the promenade,” the report warns.

The deteriorating rock will be trimmed using an excavator equipped with a rotary head and all resulting debris will be carted away to an approved dumping site. A new stone retaining wall will then be constructed using limestone blocks to match the existing wall.