A pedestrian and cycling bridge linking Ħamrun, Marsa and Floriana is taking its final shape after contractors worked through the night to lift two sections of the bridge deck into place on Friday. 

Works to transport and place the two 16-tonne, 23-metre sections began at 8pm and continued through to Saturday morning, Infrastructure Malta said in a statement. The sections are expected to have been secured in place by noon on Saturday. 

The sections form part of what will be a 105-metre bridge deck that will rise over San Ġorġ Preca road to connect Ħamrun’s Il-Kbira San Ġużepp (St Joseph High) Road with the Spencer Hill and the Menqa areas of Marsa, including the nearby ferry terminals and the Floriana Park and Ride facilities.

The southbound carriageway of San Ġorġ Preca Road, which was closed to allow works to proceed, will reopen at noon on Saturday. 

Infrastructure Malta first announced the footbridge plans in November 2018. It says that the €2 million bridge, which is part-financed through EU funds, will provide a safer and quicker arterial road crossing for pedestrians and cyclists, replacing the existing pelican lights. It will also create direct links between the five bus stops (Blata l-Bajda 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) located at either side of these busy arterial roads, making it easier for passengers to change buses on their way to and from many locations in the south of Malta. 

The structure also includes passenger lifts and stairs, to ensure it is accessible and comfortable to everyone.    

Infrastructure Malta’s contractors began building the bridge’s steel deck in the second half of 2019, as works at the site itself continued. 

Workers look on as the bridge section is secured in place. Photo: Infrastructure Malta

Workers drilled 21 cores several storeys deep into the ground to cast the concrete piles serving as foundations for the bridge structures. Workers also built pillars, abutments, ramps, stairways and lift shafts. 

Subway plans 

Infrastructure Malta is also building similar footbridges in Aviation Avenue, to link Gudja, Malta International Airport and the Institute of Tourism Studies, and in Dom Mintoff road, to link the Mcast campus to Paola.

The agency, which is synonymous with the €600m national road rebuilding project, is also developing a new pedestrian subway to replace an old, dilapidated underpass at the Portes des Bombes area of Floriana.