The narrowing of part of Mellieħa bypass to accommodate a controversial new service road has forced the authorities to lower the speed limit along this stretch from 80km/h to 40km/h and to 60km/h beyond.
Transport Minister Ian Borg announced the changes in reply to a parliamentary question tabled by Opposition MP and former Mellieħa mayor Robert Cutajar.
Louis Wettinger Road, as the stretch is called, is undergoing a €2 million reconstruction project, which is almost complete. The project was announced last March in the wake of the controversy that erupted when it transpired that one of the lanes would have to make way for a new road servicing a massive block of apartments.
Outraged Mellieħa residents and several commuters who make use of the road regularly criticised the plan saying it would result in a bottleneck and pose a hazard because of a blind corner.
Dr Borg initially justified the move saying the road would become safer but, as criticism mounted and over 3,000 people signed a petition, he backtracked.
It was then announced that the bypass would be redesigned to keep the four-lane configuration while accommodating the service road. As it was not clear how this could be done, many feared the only solution would be to narrow the road at the cost of lowering the speed limit.
The bypass has been narrowed too much
READ: Mellieħa bypass works awarded by direct order
Replying to one of the questions Mr Cutajar had tabled in the House, the minister defended the decision to cut the speed limit by saying it was meant to safeguard cyclists. He noted it was “not recommended” to have a speed limit higher than 60km/h next to a cycle lane. It eventually emerged that the cycle lane had, in fact, been in place for a number of years.
Dr Borg pointed out that the cycle lane would pass through the service road along the stretch of road at the centre of the controversy. Furthermore, the speed limit there would go down to 40km/h and a number of safety features would be installed, the minister added.
“The decision [to lower the speed limit] confirms what people have been saying from the very beginning that the bypass has been narrowed too much,” Mr Cutajar told the Times of Malta when contacted.
“Something had to give and, unfortunately, it was the public and motorists who will pay the price now.”
Meanwhile, work is under way on a new slip road that will give better access to Il-Miżieb Road for vehicles approaching from Selmun.
Despite encroaching on virgin land outside the development zone, the government is insisting no permit was required for this road.
This was justified on grounds that the road is located along “a pre-existing lane” being “upgraded”.