[WATCH] First phase of Marsa-Hamrun Bypass project almost complete

Footage sent by Transport Malta

The first phase of the €5 million Marsa-Hamrun Bypass project, aimed at improving the arterial road connecting the centre of Malta to the south, is reportedly approaching its completion.

Engineer Fredrick Azzopardi, who is working on the project, said this first phase saw technical work bing done, including creating 370 metres of new storm water catchment systems, as well as a sewage pipeline crossing and a 350-metre walk-through culvert.

Azzopardi said 500 metres of trench were implemented for electrical networks, with around 8km of high-voltage cables placed in these culverts and trenches.

The work also included the building of road foundations and a 350-metre retaining wall at the edge of the new lanes, apart from the pedestrian facilities mentioned above. The engineer also said that the last weeks saw the implementation of trenches in nearby roads such as the slip road linking the bypass to Qormi so that these services can be connected to existing networks in the area.

Transport Minister Ian Borg highlighted the project’s aims of improving traffic efficiency and safety, underlining that it would involve the building of 1.7km of new pavements and pedestrian facilities at the side of the road.

The second phase of the project, Borg said, will include the rebuilding and movement of the road’s central strip and the upgrading of a numbers of junctions along its northbound carriageway, improving connections with Triq Dicembru 13, the Mriehel Bypass and the Santa Venera tunnels.

In the coming months, the two lanes created in the first phase will temporarily replace the existing southbound carriageway of the road, allowing for it to be rebuilt.

The project should be completed by April 2019, however the six bypass lanes are planned to open towards the end of this year.