Road studies confirm massive ecological impact at Ghadira
James Debono Three of the four proposals for a new road at Ghadira, in Mellieha, will have a massive impact on agricultural land and garigue, a project development statement presented by the Transport Authority to MEPA reveals.
The proposals are for the Trans-European Network road, which envisage the upgrading of the present Ghadira road or a new alternative route around the area.
The replacement of the present road is one of four different routes originally proposed by transport minister Austin Gatt in 2008. But the controversial plan was put on the backburner last October, when the government decided that EU funds earmarked for the project were to be redirected towards the construction of a new junction at Kappara.
Studies on the Ghadira project, however, continued over the past months while the project disappeared from the media spotlight.
The PDS, authored by architect Martin Attard Montalto, chief officer of the Road and Infrastructure Directorate of the Transport Authority, lists the land intake of each of the four proposals being considered in separate MEPA applications.
The construction of a new route and tunnel located inland, behind the Danish Village, will encroach on 20,068 square metres of agricultural land, 830 square metres of garigue, and 15,450 square metres of land earmarked for the Foresta 2000 afforestation project.
The construction of the tunnel could also cause irrevocable harm to the aquifer, the PDS states.
On the other hand, the construction of a new road and bridge also located inland behind the Danish Village will encroach on 9,970 sq.m of agricultural land, 10,140 sq.m of garigue and 11,768 sq.m on the Foresta 2000 site located below the elevated bridge.
The widening of an existing track, also located inland behind the Danish Village, would affect 9,060 sq.m of garigue and 17,521 sq.m of Foresta 2000.
The least environmentally damaging option is the upgrading of the existing road, affecting just 740 sq.m of garigue and 3,260 sq.m of land already covered by Foresta 2000 trees.
But the report excludes retaining the present road, citing safety standards and the impacts on the nearby beach, which are considered to be unacceptable. If the road is not rebuilt, this stretch of road would not qualify as part of the EU’s TEN-T network.
“This would in turn be interpreted that the government of Malta is not serious about its commitment as an EU Member State to attain the balanced regional development objectives with respect to Gozo,” referring to the road’s vital link to the Gozo channel link port.
The PDS deems the present road to be unsafe because certain areas are too wide, and therefore provide space for irregular parking. “Vehicle routes need to be defined in a better manner and traffic needs to be channeled properly.”
Since on-street parking is permitted all along the present route, the road capacity is reduced to one-lane/on-street parking, conflicting with pedestrian movements across the road, “causing severe safety problems”.
As regards beach erosion, the main reason cited by Austin Gatt to justify the project, the PDS refers to a study undertaken in 1983, which states that the sand from the beach is lost because it is “blown across the road”.
But the PDS concludes that “further studies should identify the key factors that determine the beach dynamics over the past years”. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
Search:
MALTATODAY
BUSINESSTODAY
Download MaltaToday Sunday issue front page in pdf file format
