The Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects has said that work on the rebuilding of the Mellieha bypass from scratch, has begun and is expected to be completed by the beginning of this summer, through and investment of around €2 million.

In a statement it said that the rebuilding is being done following an intervention by the Ministry for Transport, which asked Transport Malta’s Roads and Infrastructure Directorate to redesign the bypass “so that it can become safer without being narrowed, as was originally planned.”

New crash barriers on the outer edges of the carriageway and a new central strip with crash barriers dividing the lanes in opposite directions, are being installed to ensure safety for road users.

The Ministry said that, simultaneously, the entire road – which has to date never had lights installed – will also have a new system of lamps installed on poles.

As well as the four lanes for cars, with two in each direction, this bypass will also feature a 1.4-kilometre-long cycle lane.

The project also includes the redesign of some of the junctions connecting this road to others which open up into it, such as the Mizieb road and other roads which lead to residential zones in Mellieha.

Original plans for the redesign of the Mellieha bypass, designed years ago, included the removal of one of the four bypass lanes as a safety measure, the Ministry said.

It added that, other parts of this bypass, as well as other parts of the route between Mellieha and Cirkewwa, had already been reduced to three or two lanes in past years when they were rebuilt as part of a project financed by the European Union.

The Ministry said that a few weeks ago it asked Transport Malta to reconsider the original plans for the rebuilding of the bypass with the aim of retaining the road’s four lanes.

“The authority’s architects confirmed that the bypass could be improved with several safety measures without being narrowed down to three lanes. The new technical plans were discussed with the Mellieha Local Council and the necessary work was initiated by several contractors in the past few days,” the Ministry said.

The rebuilding of the Mellieha bypass forms part of a larger plan of work to improve the main connection towards northern localities and areas of the country such as Xemxija, Mellieha, the Cirkewwa Gozo Ferry Terminal and the Ghadira, Armier and Marfa bays, among others, the Ministry said.

The coming weeks, before the start of summer, will also see repairs of parts of the Selmun Hill so that parts of the road which have given way in the past weeks are redone. Eventually, this road will also need to be rebuilt from scratch through a separate project.

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