Works began yesterday on the installation of a €2.8 million footbridge linking both sides of the St Elmo breakwater off Valletta.
Three cranes, a barge and a boat were involved in the operation. No vessel was permitted to leave or enter Marsamxett Harbour or Grand Harbour except by special permission from the Ports and Yachting Directorate, since the operation requires very good sea conditions. The new bridge is expected to look very similar to the original Victorian bridge, which had been completed in 1903 and was damaged during the war.
The project is being funded by Transport Malta and was announced by Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt in 2009.
The bridge has been mockingly referred to as a “bridge to nowhere”.