Works on the Mrieħel underpass project have entered a new phase, as workers began to build tunnel walls.

The project is expected to be concluded in the second half of the year, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg announced on Wednesday. 

The works will see a new 60-metre tunnel connecting Mdina Road to the Mrieħel bypass at the junction next to the offices of the Malta Financial Services Authority. 

Excavation works have now been concluded, and Infrastructure Malta will be installing 290 precast concrete panels to form the tunnel walls, Borg explained. 

“Thanks to this investment, the project will minimise bottlenecks in this area and maximise the positive impact of the Central Link project,” Borg said. 

“Whereas before you couldn’t move more than four paces without getting stuck in traffic, now the route will run uninterrupted for several kilometres.” 

What will the underpass do?

The two-lane underpass system in Mrieħel will replace the traffic light system that previously regulated the flow of traffic at the crossroads between Balzan, Birkirkara and Mrieħel. Through the tunnel, eastbound traffic, which flows from Balzan to Mrieħel, will be separated from the other flows that converge at the junction. 

“As it reduces the new roundabout’s design speed and traffic volumes, the Mrieħel Underpass Project is also enabling the introduction of safer pedestrian and cycling crossings to link Birkirkara, Mrieħel and Balzan with Il-Ħofor Road, a rural road leading to Żebbuġ and Qormi,” a spokesperson for Infrastructure Malta said.  

“These roundabout crossings will further improve the connections of the four-kilometre cycling and walking infrastructure developed through the Central Link Project in Ta’ Qali, Attard and Balzan.”

IM added that the project as a whole had cut travel times and drastically reduced congestion pollution by redesigning 11 junctions, removing four traffic light systems and adding 14 kilometres of lanes. 

“These improvements are decreasing particulate matter pollution by up to 66% by 2030, even when considering future transport demand,” the spokesperson said. 

“Similarly, nitrogen dioxide emissions will go down by 41%,” the agency spokesperson added.

Borg said that works are progressing smoothly and the project should be ready by mid-year.