Traffic jams possible due to<i> </i>park-and-ride junctions work

Motorists driving through traffic-choked Blata l-Bajda will have to face more inconvenience as works start next week on two junctions forming part of the park-and-ride project.

The work will take about six weeks to complete.

The Lm200,000 project will allow drivers to park at Belt il-Hazna, outside Floriana, and catch an electric bus to Valletta. The project forms parts of a wider proposal to shift a large volume of parking from the city to the 950-vehicle car park.

The first phase of the project consisted of the reconstruction of the stretch of road from St Anne Street to Portes des Bombes and the construction of lanes at St Francis' Ravelin. A special lane has been built for the electric buses carrying commuters out of Valletta.

A spokesman for the Ministry for Urban Development told The Times yesterday that work will take place in Triq Nazzjonali, near the MUSEUM headquarters in Blata l-Bajda, and further up the road opposite the Peugeot showroom. Works on the junction near the MUSEUM headquarters will involve the widening of the existing bridge leading towards Hamrun and the minor realignment of the kerbs along Triq Nazzjonali.

The bridge is being widened to accommodate a new carriageway that will provide access from Hamrun directly to Crownworks/ Hornworks ditch. A new traffic lights system will be installed to improve traffic flows at the junction.

Works on the second junction will involve the realignment of the kerbs along Triq Nazzjonali and the introduction of a new traffic lights system for Valletta-bound traffic crossing over to the park-and-ride site.

The carriageway that allows traffic towards Valletta to turn back to Blata l-Bajda will be widened to accommodate the traffic towards the park-and-ride area.

The Environmental Landscapes Consortium will be overseeing the uprooting and transplanting of the existing shrubs in the area planted there some years ago. The value of both contracts is about Lm120,000.

The Malta Transport Authority is coordinating with the contractors and the Commissioner of Police to ensure the works cause the least disruption possible to road users.

Work on the whole project is due to be concluded by the end of this year.

Some of the funding for the construction of the scheme will come from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority's commuted parking payment scheme through which developers of business establishments contribute to a fund designed to provide parking facilities.