A 110-metre pedestrian bridge connecting Ħamrun, Marsa and Floriana is now open for public use, completing a €2m project first announced in November 2018. 

The bridge curves over San Ġorġ Preca Road and connects St Joseph High Street with the Spencer Hill and Menqa areas of Marsa and Floriana park and ride. It is intended for pedestrians, bus passengers and cyclists who must cross the busy thoroughfares and links five bus stops on either side of the traffic-filled roads. 

Ramps, stairs and a passenger lift ensure easy access even for those with mobility issues. 

In a statement announcing the bridge completion, Infrastructure Malta said that architects had designed the bridge to match the canopy of adjacent trees. 

“As the bridge rises and turns, commuters crossing it can enjoy the unusual experience of walking or cycling amidst the high canopies of the adjacent trees,” the agency said. 

The project was announced in late 2018, with works beginning in the second half of 2019. The bridge’s 72-tonne steel deck was built in Marsa and contractors drilled 21 cores several storeys deep into the ground to serve as its foundation.

In February, five steel deck sections weighing more than 16 tonnes each were taken to the project site and lifted into place. The bridge has been weatherproofed using 100 per cent recycled and recyclable wood and plastic. 

Cyclists make use of the new bridge. Photo: Infrastructure Malta

Part-funded by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund, the Blata l-Bajda bridge is the third infrastructural project targeted at pedestrians and cyclists to be completed this year. Earlier in 2020, Infrastructure Malta unveiled a segregated cycling route between Luqa and Qormi and another pedestrian bridge linking Luqa and Gudja. 

Infrastructure Malta intends to complement the new bridge with a revamped subway tunnel to replace the existing pedestrian underpass at the nearby Portes des Bombes areas. 

Some kilometres away, in Paola, the agency is preparing to build a similar footbridge to serve MCAST students and allow them to cross Triq Dom Mintoff, linking the college campus to Paola.