Luqa-Qormi arterial road to be open for traffic by month's end

A 2.2-km road linking the western part of Malta to the central part of the island, being reconstructed under the Fifth Italo-Maltese Financial Protocol, will be open for traffic at the end of the month, ahead of schedule.

Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett yesterday told The Sunday Times that Luqa Road in Qormi and Qormi Road in Luqa are "now around 90 per cent complete" and that "the Italian contractors on the site, Flli Anastasi, and their Maltese sub-contractor, Asfaltar, are expected to complete these road works before the September deadline set by Government".

This is the fourth stretch of arterial roads being financed under this protocol and, according to Mr Mugliett, the works on this stretch of road were probably the most challenging of the whole 16 km of the Italian protocol project.

For the road provides the only means of access to the busy Luqa Industrial Area. With a new commercial area next to Mambra flourishing in recent years, apart from ensuring continued access to these retail outlets, Mr Mugliett said the works also had to cater for the parking needs of these operations. There is also a large residential area in the Hal Farrug area, which depended almost exclusively on this road for access.

Probably the most important factor of all, he added, is that the road provides access for the Civil Aviation Department, Lufthansa Technik's aircraft maintenance operations and the general aviation park. So the road had to remain open at all times apart from having to provide entry into the airport grounds should an emergency take place.

The reconstruction of Luqa and Qormi roads will eliminate the problems that were always associated with the road, Mr Mugliett said, not least its notorious sharp bends and blind corners, which were smoothened out and made safe according to the latest road design standards.

Works on this stretch of road started in January. It includes the building of three service roads to provide safer access to the commercial area near the Mambra roundabout, the industrial area opposite the Water Services Corporation premises and the Hal Farrug residential area.

These service roads will separate the through traffic from the local traffic in these areas, making the arterial road safer. Two new water mains were laid, feeding from the water reservoir in Luqa, with a total length of around 4.2 km.

A stormwater system has been installed all along the 2.2-km stretch to alleviate the flooding, particularly in the area closest to Wied ic-Cawsli.

Enemalta Corporation rerouted some of its high-tension and low-tension infrastructure from beneath the main carriageways to under the pavements and laid two new high tension electricity cables. A spare six-way duct was also installed under the pavements to allow new services to be laid, should the need arise.

According to Roads Ministry officials, the larger part of the 2.2-km road has received the first layer of asphalt, referred to as the base course. The section near the Luqa water reservoir will be asphalted with base course this week.

The second layer, known as the binder, has also been laid on the section closest to Qormi. Work will then proceed with the laying of the binder on the remainder of the road up to the old Luqa air terminal building. The top layer, or wearing course, then needs to be laid on the entire thoroughfare.

A total of 15,840 tons, equivalent to 792 truckloads of asphalt, would have been laid on the 4,000 m2 area of road.

The installation of a new street lighting system is also currently under way. Four new pelican crossings are being installed. A multitude of new soft areas for landscaping have been created totalling around 4,300 m2. The Environmental Landscapes Consortium is set to start working on these areas in the coming days.