Night works on arterial roads between Santa Venera tunnels and Marsa

Transport Malta will on Tuesday night intensify road works along different parts of the main route between the Santa Venera tunnels and December 13 road in Marsa

Road upgrade works outside the Santa Venera tunnels, all the way to Marsa are expected to intensify in the coming days
Road upgrade works outside the Santa Venera tunnels, all the way to Marsa are expected to intensify in the coming days

Motorists will be able to exit the Santa Venera tunnels and head towards Marsa without having to face a bottleneck by year’s end, Transport Malta said.

Works currently underway to increase two carriageways on the Marsa-Hamrun bypass outside the Santa Venera tunnels are expected to intensify over the coming days, the authority said.

Some sections of the road network will be closed off as works to upgrade the junction between December 13 road in Marsa and the Santa Venera tunnels are stepping up a gear.

Works will start on the slipway leading to the Hamrun-Qormi roundabout
Works will start on the slipway leading to the Hamrun-Qormi roundabout

Transport Malta said these works will continue for several days and form part of three major ongoing projects to upgrade the roads in the area.

The works include the widening of the Marsa-Hamrun bypass, the upgrading of parts of December 13 road and its junctions and the Marsa Junction project, including the development of a seven-flyover intersection.

Marsa-Hamrun bypass project

Transport Malta said the first works starting on Tuesday night will continue round the clock for several days include trenching works in the slip road connecting the south-bound carriageway of the Marsa-Hamrun bypass to the Qormi-Santa Venera roundabout.

These trenching works are required for the laying of new utilities and telecommunications underground distribution networks being developed as part of the €5 million project to add two new lanes to the Marsa-Hamrun bypass.

These additional lanes are expected to be available to road users by the end of the year.

The project will remove the existing merging of two lanes into one at the south-bound exit of the Santa Venera tunnels. A new uninterrupted lane towards Qormi and Santa Venera is being built to resolve this obstacle.

Due to the extent of the trenching works involved, this slip road will be closed for several days.

Road users travelling to Qormi or Santa Venera through the Marsa-Hamrun bypass are encouraged to use alternative routes.

Public transport routes that normally go through this slip road are also being diverted to other nearby roads to ensure that bus schedules are not disrupted.

December 13 upgrade 

Meanwhile, during the next few days, other road works will also be taking place at December 13 road along the same north-south arterial route.

While temporary lane closures may occur, December 13 will remain open in both directions at all times. Works that may have a greater impact on vehicular flows are scheduled to be carried out late at night, to avoid interruptions at peak times.       

These works form part of a €2.5 million investment launched a few week ago to upgrade parts of Triq Aldo Moro, December 13 and the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass, eliminating several accident black spots and improving travel times through these arterial roads.

This project includes the redesign and rebuilding of Triq Aldo Moro’s roundabout junction at the Salib tal-Marsa area and widening of parts of December 13 road.

The one-lane slip road linking the north-bound carriageway of December 13 to the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass will be widened to accommodate two dedicated lanes.

Similarly, the slip road linking the south-bound carriageway of this road to the same bypass will be rebuilt to introduce a continuous lane, reducing the risk of collisions.