Gone With The Green: Mosta Bridge Trees Fall Victim To Recent Road Works
The near-completed road works along the Mosta bridge left a long-standing line of trees uprooted – some of the latest victims of Infrastructure Malta’s works.
Triq id-Difiża Ċivili, which also covers the infamous Mosta Bridge, was closed for a number of weeks while work was taking place as part of the €1.7 million investment.
Before and after photos show that the spots which were previously occupied by a number of trees, over 10, have now become one big concrete pavement – apart from a flowerbed arrangement at the end of the bridge.
The before photos of the area were acquired through Google Maps’ Streetview, which was updated last in 2016, therefore showcasing an older version of these locations.
Contacted by Lovin Malta, Infrastructure Malta (IM) CEO Ivan Falzon said that the roadworks “from roundabout to roundabout” were all covered by RWP1-0237/22, as seen below.
Asked about the trees, IM insisted that “all works were covered by necessary permits, including ERA”.
However, no permit on ERA’s website was found green lighting the felling of trees, as seen in the screenshot attached below.
When asked why no record of the permit was found on ERA’s website, Falzon once again claimed that the works were covered, even though a request to view the permit in question was ignored.
Earlier this week, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure, and Capital Projects, Aaron Farrugia visited the ongoing works while announcing that they will soon be completed.
An uninterrupted and safe pedestrian path along the entire road has been carefully thought of, while another lane, has been dedicated to bicycles.
However, many are questioning why the trees could not be saved, instead of including a small area with flower beds at the end of the bridge.
Did you notice that the trees were gone?