Infrastructure Malta is widening a short stretch of Burmarrad Road and replacing new barriers with bollards after a road safety test showed that a fire truck could not overtake another heavy vehicle.
It is understood concern was recently raised about crash barriers that Infrastructure Malta installed as part of a €3.5 million “safety upgrade” of the 2.5-kilometre road and its junctions.
The roads agency insists that the precast concrete barriers reduce injuries and accidents and that their installation does not hinder first aid responders from overtaking other vehicles along most of the road.
A test, carried out in conjunction with the Civil Protection Department and the Emergency Department of Mater Dei Hospital, found that the existing carriageways are wide enough to accommodate two fire trucks next to each other, except for a “short stretch” of the northbound carriageway where a footpath that existed before the safety upgrade juts out onto the cycle lane.
IM said it, therefore, decided to remove these protruding sections of the footpath to make it easier for a heavy vehicle to overtake a stalled heavy vehicle in case of emergency.
At this same stretch of the road, some five barriers (30 metres) will be replaced with spring-bollards to ensure emergency vehicles can make it through in case a heavy vehicle is stalled.
The concrete barriers will remain for the rest of the road.
According to IM, the barriers’ narrow profile reduces the footprint that would otherwise be required for other vehicle restraint systems between carriageways, making them “highly suited for the limited road space in most of the Maltese road network”.
A spokesperson said the six-metre 3.4 tonne precast concrete barriers are specifically designed to prevent rollover and break through accidents, reducing the risks of serious injuries. They have a special anti-flip profile that redirects vehicles back onto the carriageway, the spokesperson said. Notwithstanding their rigidity, they reduce potential severe neck injuries.
These barriers, used for the first time by IM in 2019, have helped reduce the consequences of collisions in areas like Tal-Barrani Road and Regional Road, he added.
They are widely used in several European motorways, including the UK’s M1 and M6, and can contain the impact of a 13-tonne bus travelling at speeds of up to 70 km per hour.