A single southbound lane along Għadira Bay, part of the Mellieha roadworks, should not impact traffic from Gozo and is considered a “balance between safety and convenience”, according to Infrastructure Malta.

Its CEO, Ivan Falzon is not concerned about potential congestion generated by the reduction to one lane of the southbound Marfa Road, leading from the Gozo ferry terminal, saying traffic loads have been taken into account.

“We believe the biggest challenge is not Gozo southbound traffic – which is limited to a maximum of 160 cars per 30 minutes at peak – but a few hours a week when the Armier and Gozo traffic merge going back south, normally on Sunday afternoon between 4 and 6,” Falzon specified.

“But being a beach, with thousands of hours of pedestrian activity registered, we believe this downhill stretch is no place for a two-lane road and a single lane will create the balance between safety and convenience,” he said.

Parking only on the side of the beach would mean people would not need to cross the road, where accidents have occurred.

Concern has been raised about parking issues and traffic congestion, as well as disruption caused by the works at Malta’s most popular sandy beach during the peak tourism period in summer.

But the roads agency has ensured that the removal of parking spaces on the opposite side of the 1.2km bay will be compensated for with its “reorganisation” plan.

IM: Parking spaces to remain unchanged

Falzon has confirmed that fishbone parking along the bay will replace the removed spaces from the other side of the road and that the same number of cars as before the works started will be accommodated.

The parking area close to what was once the Mellieħa Bay Hotel had also been expanded, although beachgoers have complained it was not enough.

When will the project be completed?

The €8m project, originally slated to be completed by June 2023, covers the 1.6km area from the Seabank roundabout to the Armier roundabout.

Last week, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo was quoted as saying in parliament that the promenade regeneration would be paused during the summer months to minimise inconvenience and extend beyond summer.

He said works will be “temporarily completed” by summer and fully completed at a later date.

Asked about the impact of this on the tourism industry in peak season, a ministry spokesman said “both carriageways of Marfa Road will be open for traffic and the bay, promenade and parking area will be fully accessible”.

Works had already been planned in a way that they would “not disrupt or adversely affect” the tourism industry during the summer months, he said.

Falzon also noted that works in Għadira were going according to plan and “we are committed to deliver this multi-stage project, involving works by multiple entities, in the next months”.

Outlining the project, he said it started off as a collaboration between the Water Services Corporation and IM on five kilometres of water mains, focusing on the northbound lanes.

“Obviously, IM took the opportunity to rebuild this 1.6km section of the road that was deteriorating rapidly – a much-needed upgrade in an area that had not seen any real infrastructure investment in the last 40 years,” Falzon said.

Works on the northbound lanes started in January last year and these were closed off for the summer in May 2022, causing some disruption at the busy Għadira Bay.

They are not yet finalised but the northbound lanes are currently open to traffic on the base asphalt layers, with temporary yellow line markings.

Last year, when the Malta Tourism Authority proposed upgrading the whole Għadira promenade, IM took it on, Falzon continued, incorporating its plans for the upgrade of the southbound lanes.

A much-needed upgrade in an area that had not seen any real infrastructure investment in the last 40 years

These works include the reorganisation of parking in the area, an upgrade of all promenade facilities, “road dieting” in areas where pedestrian safety and activity is prioritised, junction improvement and more landscaping, including safer and upgraded railings and new services for all utilities across the 1.2km stretch of the bay.

Works started towards the end of October 2022 and are planned to continue till June.

Falzon, who stated he was not “inventing timelines”, said the original plan “was, is and remains” the splitting of the project in three main phases, which has seen the completion of the northbound works last May and will see the completion of the southbound lane in June.

It will not be until March 2024 that the last phase, the finishing works, starting next October, will be closed off, however.

These include final asphalt for both northbound and southbound roads and the promenade finishes and furniture.

“This summer, the goal is to complete the entire promenade and open the road below, meaning there will be two lanes on the inside and one on the side of the bay,” the CEO said.

“Then, come October, because we will stop again for the summer, we will complete the final tarmac coating on both sides,” he clarified.

Admitting that delays were incurred, he said there were days when weather conditions meant the site was not safe to operate in and others when it suffered damages, which took “days to recover from”.

But, he reiterated, “with the commitment of all involved, including officials from all entities, the contractor on site and his employees, we are confident the upgrade of all facilities in one of the most popular beaches in Malta can be enjoyed by all that visit, including this summer”.