How disused infrastructure can be turned into green areas

Here you will find an example from Malta

Malta is preparing more and more reconstruction and renovation projects to be carried out in the spirit of the circular economy. The latest example comes from a disused road that was turned into a green area.

A disused road

A road connecting Regjonali and Il-Wied tal-Imsida Roads was the location of multiple car accidents that had happened in the past. It was decommissioned last year and turned into a grove. This initial part of the project consisted of two phases. The first one included removal of the asphalt and the second one – the replacement of the asphalt with soil.

Infrastructure Malta, the Contractor under this project, implemented the following:

• As part of their larger agenda to plant trees across Malta, the company placed 459 new trees in this area. They represent a variety of 12 indigenous species.
• The area around the new grove was cleared from parking lots in order not to damage the soil.
• The company also cleaned some soakaway reservoirs to ensure the storage of rainwater. This way the trees will have natural watering throughout the year.

The environmental advantages of the project are clear. It will reduce the air and noise pollution with the new trees planted. Besides, it will improve road safety and will reduce traffic jams in the area. Better road infrastructure and organization are crucial in this case.

Alongside two other projects – Marsa Junction and Central Link Project, Malta Infrastructure aims to reduce a huge amount of greenhouse gases and highly improve the local air quality. With the 8,000 trees planted in 2019 and more than 1,000 for the first two months of 2020, the company has really proven itself a leader in this respect.

In addition to their efforts, Infrastructure Malta also welcomes donations from individuals and companies and is liaising with public authorities to speed up the tree planting and development of green areas.