Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1335208
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 JANUARY 2021 NEWS Gridlock warning on Mriehel's Quad towers called for overpass Traffic studies for the Gasan and Tumas towers presented in 2015 had warned of gridlock without an overpass, but developers insist Mrieħel f lyover is not necessary for them JAMES DEBONO THE CEO of the Tumas-Gasan high-rise project Quad Towers at Mrieħel is insisting that a proposed flyover by Infrastructure Malta is not necessary for their development. CEO Catherine Halpin said the flyover, whose controversial development will gobble 15,000sq.m of agricultural land, is located at the other end of the Central Business District (CBD) where the Quad is located. "The Quad has absolutely no connection to this proposed Mriehel flyover," Halpin said, denying any meetings having been held with the authorities about the road project. But traffic studies for the Quad Tower project re- fer to the need of an underpass in the vicinity of the project and an overpass linked to Triq in Negozju to siphon traffic from existing junctions. When asked about this traffic study, Halpin re- plied that the under and overpass had been dis- cussed but did not progress since IM and the CBD foundation "are looking at a simpler and more ho- listic approach to traffic management in the vicinity of the Quad and the adjacent areas". Transport Malta had issued its clearance for the Quad development on condition that the devel- opers contribute financially to the proposed road- works. Halpin confirmed that an agreement has been signed but the contribution still has to be paid. "The financial contribution is not yet due, and will be paid by the Quad as and when it is due as is the case for all financial commitments, planning or oth- erwise." High-rise made junction upgrade inevitable In its assessment of traffic studies in 2015, the Planning Authority's Transport Planning Unit warned that if the Gasan and Tumas towers are ap- proved, "further development at the Industrial Es- tate would be limited without further upgrading of the infrastructure", recommending an Mrieħel Re- generation Master Plan for the whole area, prior to further assessment of the transport implications of this particular proposal. But the project was still approved in the absence of a masterplan. The TPU warned that the new junction "needs to be acceptable from an environmental point of view since this will be taking up fresh ODZ land." Indeed, earlier plans for new junctions in the area were shunned by Transport Malta due to the land expropriations required. Traffic studies for the Gasan and Tumas towers presented in 2015 had warned of gridlock without an overpass linking the Dawret l-Imrieħel bypass and Triq in-Negozju, as currently proposed by In- frastructure Malta. The studies had established that the two main junctions in the area were already failing and the situation was set to aggravate due to "added developments that arise from the designa- tion of the area for tall buildings". "Traffic will, therefore, need be siphoned off these junctions to a new junction," the studies warned. The immediate solution proposed for the extra traffic created by the Tumas and Gasan project consisted of an underpass, linking the northbound Dawret L-Imrieħel carriageway with Triq l-Intorn- jatur. But studies also refer to the construction of an overpass, linking the northbound Dawret l-Imrieħel carriageway with Triq in-Negozju to address the in- crease in traffic as a result of the transformation of Mrieħel into a high-rise zone. Overpass proposed as long-term solution To avert gridlock, transport studies for then Quad Towers, proposed siphoning traffic off existing junctions to a new junction.The study recommend- ed a new part-signalised junction (referred to as Junction X) but this was not deemed acceptable as it would have "required extensive land expropria- tion". Instead, Transport Malta suggested an underpass to link the northbound Dawret L-Imrieħel carriage- way with Triq l-Intornjatur (only for inbound traffic from the south). This option still would result in the uptake of "fresh ODZ land". Moreover "given safety and capacity concerns" and "the potential for further high-density devel- Traffic studies for the Quad Tower project refer to the need of an underpass in the vicinity of the project and an overpass linked to Triq in Negozju to siphon traffic from existing junctions