Works to rebuild the Mellieħa bypass have begun and should be completed before the start of summer, the Transport Ministry said on Tuesday. 

The redesigned €2 million road will feature four lanes for cars - two in either direction - as well as a 1.4 kilometre-long cycling lane. Crash barriers will be installed on the road's outer edge as well as along a new centre strip. 

Plans to rebuild Triq Louis Wettinger were sent back to the drawing board by the ministry following complaints about the road being narrowed to accommodate a service road for a private development. 

In its statement, the Transport Ministry said that plans to narrow the bypass had been designed "years ago". 

"In fact, other parts of this bypass, as well as other parts of the route between Mellieħa and Ċirkewwa, 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. 

Former Mellieħa mayor and current PN MP Robert Cutajar raised concerns about the narrowed road in parliament last March, prompting uproar from concerned residents and commuters. 

Photo: Transport Ministry

The furore led to Transport Minister Ian Borg pledging to ensure the road remained a four-lane one. New technical plans were discussed with the town's local council, the ministry said on Tuesday. 

"We listened to the concerns put forward by residents and those who use this road on a daily basis, we understood that there was room for improvement, and we immediately took the necessary action to implement it," the minister said. 

Rebuilding the bypass forms part of a larger plan to improve road connectivity with northern localities. Contractors have recently rebuilt parts of Triq il-Pwales along the Xemxija shore, with work also underway to strengthen the Mistra bridge, "which was at risk of collapsing" and plans to repair parts of Selmun Hill - a stop-gap solution until the road can be rebuilt from scratch, the ministry said.