Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1113313
NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 MAY 2019 DAVID HUDSON INFRASTRUCTURE Malta has launched plans to develop four undergound tunnels and to reconstruct St Andrew's Road to improve the safety and efficiency of the arterial connections in Pembroke, St Julian's and other nearby areas and localities. This project will include a 500-metre one-lane tunnel which will link the northbound carriageway of Regional Road, before reaching the Paceville traffic lights junction. The longest of the four tun- nels will connect the south- ern end of the Coast Road to St George's Bay and will be a 1.5-kilometre underground link with one lane in each di- rection. A 115-metre underground connection will start at Church Street (Millenium Chapel ar- ea) and exit at Spinola Bay (St George's Road). The new project extending from the Coast Road to Re- gional Road was announced in a statement released by Infra- structure Malta yesterday. On Friday, Infrastructure Malta submitted the project's initial development applications to the Planning Authority (PA) to launch public consultations and request the necessary authorisations as part of the applicable permitting proce- dures. This project includes the re- construction of St Andrew's Road and part of the Coast Road in a new four-lane de- sign, to eliminate several traf- fic lights junctions and other bottlenecks along this route. The rationale behind this project, Infrastructure Malta said, is "reducing congestion difficulties in several nearby adjoining roads and junc- tions." It will also be aimed at pro- viding easier access to Pace- ville and Pembroke for com- muters from the southern part of Malta and to make it easier for residents in the Pembroke area to travel to and from their homes without having to use the Paceville or Spinola junc- tions, which will also be up- graded. "These upgrades will lead to significant travel time re- ductions in this arterial road corridor, whilst reducing ac- cident risks and congestion pollution in several nearby residential roads, particularly in Pembroke and St Julian's," the statement read. "In the coming weeks, Infrastructure Malta will continue meeting several stakeholders, includ- ing the local councils that will benefit from this project, to further refine these plans and make sure that this part of the country's arterial road net- work is adequately consolidat- ed to meet current and future transportation requirements." Tunnel to connect Coast Road to St George's Bay