The Marsa Junction project came one step further to completion on Friday as curved steel beams forming part of an initial flyover were laid. 

Infrastructure minister Ian Borg oversaw the laying of the first steel beams. 
The curved beams are part of the groundwork for one of the seven planned flyovers and will direct traffic from Aldo Moro road to Giuseppe Garibaldi road and vice versa. 

Once completed, what is currently still a 180m ramp will have two lanes of traffic flowing in either direction. 

The beams, which are manufactured in Turkey, take only a few minutes to be installed and about an hour to weld together. 

Dr Borg said the project would service 120,000 vehicles per day and would serve to alleviate public frustration with the current traffic situation. 

What is the Marsa junction project?

The Marsa junction project is a multi-year road works project to completely revamp traffic arrangements at the busy Marsa intersection. Seven flyovers covering a total of 12km are planned for the site.

Infrastructure Malta has previously said the project should be completed by the end of 2020. 

Ian Borg (centre) visits the work site. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Minister hits back at road works critics

The minister said that road widening projects, including the Rabat-Mrieħel  Central Link project and the widening at Tal-Balal road, were part of the government’s efforts to address traffic problems that in the past had been tackled using stop-gap measures. 

“We don’t want to make the same mistake of addressing one bottleneck by creating another,” the minister said. 

Responding to criticism regarding increased emissions and the uprooting of trees to make way for the Central Link project, the minister said that the majority of people were happy with the project as they knew the government was addressing their concerns.