European money keeping us on the move
It’s good news for motorists that the new flyover at Kappara is now fully open in both directions.
Where there is determination to do things better, results can be achieved.
T he project was completed in a professional manner, ahead of schedule, and is a success story we can all be proud of. Thousands of motorists on the Regional Road are already enjoying better journeys every day and the final part of the jigsaw, the roundabout beneath the flyover, should be complete by the end of the year.
This event takes me back to when the tunnel on the Regional Road was opened. I remember that we were allowed to walk through the tunnel on the eve of it opening to traffic. While not exactly a party, it was a moment of great excitement for us as teenagers.
The excitement of seeing a triumph of civil engineering never quite goes away, however old you are. Each one a mark of the country’s economic advance.
But these big infrastructure projects do not come cheap. The bill for Kappara is €35 million, with over €33 million of that coming from EU funds.
Sometimes the European Union seems a distant place. We wonder how decisions taken in Brussels affect our day to day lives. But with a project such as Kappara we have a solid example of money being spent to get people on the move, with a daily traffic volume in excess of 90,000 vehicles, we are making daily commute of many people just a little less stressful. The removal of the bottleneck at this major intersection will result in a significant reduction in journey time. The boost that such infrastructure projects provide for the economy is not so easily quantifiable but is also one we all benefit from nevertheless.
Credit for the timely completion of the Kappara flyover must go to the Transport Minister, Ian Borg, and his predecessor, Joe Mizzi, and to James Piscopo and his team at Transport Malta, not forgetting the skilled and conscientious workers on the ground.
It has allowed me to report back to Brussels on how the millions sent to Malta have been used wisely and in accordance with the commitments we gave. This stands us in good stead for attracting further funds.
My intention is to use the management and maintenance of this project as a template for future projects.
There is a constant quest in government to improve what we do, and make life better for citizens. Sometimes promises are bold, such as repairing every road in the country, and other times it’s as simple as the introduction of apps so that government services are readily available on smartphones and tablets.
I believe that all results, big and small, are appreciated. It’s hard to believe that only five years ago, when PN were in government, there was no universal free childcare, medicines were often out of stock and public transport was in chaos.
Where there is determination to do things better, results can be achieved.
Driving back and forth over the Kappara flyover will now become commonplace and the long road of getting this project off the ground (excuse the puns) and built will soon be forgotten. That is the way of human nature, but only spurs us in government to do more. We are concentrating on other projects that we wish to achieve and we will be making the case for funding from the EU with a stronger determination that ever before.