A 10-year-old footbridge that cost €2.8 million to build and was supposed to have a lifespan of 120 years was constructed with “unsuitable materials” for the rough seas it was exposed to, according to Infrastructure Malta.
The steel bridge that connects the Grand Harbour breakwater at Fort St Elmo to the Valletta foreshore has been closed to the public since September 2020 while repairs are being carried out.
Infrastructure Malta had originally planned to reopen it to the public by the end of the year as part of a €1 million restoration project on the bridge and the 110-year-old breakwater.
However, Times of Malta readers noticed that, despite the restoration project, the footbridge remains out of bounds.
Infrastructure Malta defended the delay, saying it was working with Transport Malta to carry out “major repairs” to the structure of the bridge.
The footbridge that no one can walk on. Locked gates show access is restricted.“Certain materials used for these parts of the bridge when it was built 10 years ago were found to be unsuitable for the rough seas they are exposed to and Infrastructure Malta is working to replace them with stronger alternatives.”
The original steel bridge, completed in 1906, was destroyed in July 1941 during an attack by Italian forces in World War II. One of its original pillars remains standing but a 2010 tender for rebuilding it stipulated that the new bridge would have a lifespan of 120 years.
The €2.8 million tender was won by Spanish firm Arenas & Asociados, Maltese engineering firm Bezzina & Cole and construction firm Vassallo Builders.
However, it has been beset with problems since it was inaugurated in July 2012. It repeatedly suffered structural damage in storms, which particularly impacted its wooden decking.
At one point, a storm left a gaping hole in the structure and the bridge had to be repeatedly closed.
The agency is conducting studies to identify longer-lasting solutions
Infrastructure Malta said it was examining how to solve the problem.
“The agency is conducting studies to identify longer-lasting solutions to the wooden deck beams, the lighting system, handrails and other components that were repeatedly damaged by storms during the bridge’s short lifetime,” it said.
It would not say when the public could expect to access the structure, once derided by critics as the ‘bridge to nowhere’. The spokesperson said it would reopen when its decks are reinforced by ongoing repairs.
He added, however, that the restoration works of the two arms of the breakwater were completed last year, at a cost of €700,000.
It included the replacement of large blocks of the breakwater’s coping structure, which faced erosion and damage due to the battering of huge waves over the years.
The structure is made up of two separate structures, the longer arm on the Valletta (Fort St Elmo) side of the port, which is 370 metres long and linked to the shore by the bridge. The second arm extends 120 metres from Fort Ricasoli, in Kalkara.
Times of Malta reached out to the architects, the engineering firm and the construction firm for a comment.