Infrastructure Malta has announced plans for a new road junction in Paceville to facilitate access to St Julian's and Swieqi.
CEO Ivan Falzon said on Wednesday that the agency is about to file a planning application for the project, which will eliminate the current traffic light junction.
The project will cost between €40 to €50 million and take some two years to complete.
Infrastructure Malta first announced that it was working on the project in August last year.
The new junction will also do away with the tunnel that links Swieqi to Paceville, replacing it with a hairpin loop, slipways and a roundabout that will connect the main road in all directions.
Infrastructure Malta architect Robert Zerafa explained that the project aimed to improve traffic flow on Triq Mikiel Anton Vassalli, a TEN-T route also known as the Regional Road, introduce a grade-separated junction to replace the existing traffic lights, as well as reorganise traffic lanes to improve vehicular accessibility to and from Swieqi and St Julian’s.
The present main road will rise by 1.5 metres to allow for larger vehicles to use the underpass in and out of Swieqi and Paceville.
Zerafa, a senior manager at IM who heads the Design Unit, explained that a roundabout, a loop, and slipways will allow traffic to flow into St Julian’s and Swieqi.
Falzon said the detailed plans were drawn up in consultation with the respective local councils who, he said, had made suggestions that improved the overall design. Discussions with other stakeholders will continue even though the planning application for the project will be submitted in the coming days, he said.
A traffic noise study, traffic modeling, geotechnical investigations, a survey of existing services utilities and other studies as may be required will be carried out as part of the planning process.
Falzon said IM is working with experts to split up the project into phases so that the busy road would not need to be closed completely because of the works.
Asked about the St Andrew’s road project, Falzon said this was now complete and had re-opened to traffic in both directions on Saturday evening. Landscaping, signage and finishing touches will continue but the project has been completed from the traffic point of view.
Work on the remaining part of the project – a hairpin at the entrance to Pembroke – is ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of February.
