Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1351945
9 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday. The newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EDITOR: PAUL COCKS BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 T he overhaul in the road infrastructure witnessed over the past few years is unprecedented and a welcome invest- ment. The road network has long been crying out for improvement with the last major upgrade having been carried out in the 1990s when the Santa Venera tunnels and the Mrieħel bypass were constructed. Since then, singular road projects were carried out that tried to solve certain bot- tlenecks such as the Kappara Junction fly- over, or improve road safety. Government's 2017 pledge to invest €100 million per year for seven years to overhaul the road network was a welcome move. For the first time, a large budget was dedicated to road improvements. Equally important was the creation of a roads agency in the form of Infrastructure Malta (IM) to handle the massive invest- ment. The efficiency and expediency with which IM has worked is praiseworthy and a welcome improvement. Apart from doing up numerous residen- tial roads, IM has invested heavily in ma- jor upgrades to the main road network by tackling long-standing bottlenecks. The Marsa Junction project, the Santa Lucia tunnels, the Central Link project, the Luqa-Qormi link road, the Santa Ven- era-Hamrun bypass and the Msida valley bridge have improved traffic flow, made travelling more efficient and as a conse- quence contributed to less pollution. IM has also proposed tackling other bot- tlenecks within urban or semi-urban areas like Msida centre, outside the airport and now also in Mrieħel. The agency does well to focus its energy and expertise to solve these problems as well. However, in doing so, the agency must not run roughshod over legitimate con- cerns raised by residents, who can be im- pacted by these sensitive projects. The latest controversy concerns a pro- posed flyover junction to make entry and exit into the Mrieħel industrial estate safer and more efficient. There is no doubt that this estate, which has been renamed as the Central Business District (CBD), is today a very important employment zone that requires efficient entry and exit roads on all sides of the sprawling zone. Ideally this is achieved without taking up valuable agricultural land. Within this context, the proposal put for- ward by the Qormi council provides an al- ternative to IM's plans that merits serious consideration. The council proposal for the creation of a tunnel beneath the existing Mrieħel bypass to allow throughput traffic to flow freely, while diverting slower moving traffic in- tending to enter the CBD to the surface road, appears to be at face value a satisfac- tory proposal. It avoids the take up of agri- cultural land and creates a green ring road on the outskirts of CBD. Even more ambitious would be a more holistic approach by developing a similar tunnel project along Mdina Road to the north side of the CBD. It is obvious that any such plans must be studied and subjected to computer mod- elling to determine whether they will give the desired outcome based on expected traffic counts. But they must not be written off outright. The council alternative may be costlier but a holistic approach that incorporates all sides of the CBD may necessitate a sub- stantial investment to provide a compre- hensive solution that respects residents and also provides green spaces. Just as it adopted a holistic approach in the Marsa Junction project and the San- ta Lucia tunnels, IM must do likewise to address congestion and safety concerns at Mrieħel while striving to respect as far as possible the concerns raised by farmers and the council. A clash of ideas that produces tangible re- sults is better than a clash of egos that cre- ates unnecessary friction and opposition. A clash of ideas, not egos produces better roads 18.3.2021