[WATCH] Bright tunnel lights to be adjusted, Ian Borg says

Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg said that works on the Santa Venera, Tal Qroqq, Regional Road and Kirkop tunnels, including light intensity regulation settings, will be ready in weeks.

A major upgrade of the tunnels’ fire safety, visibility, security and emergency systems is currently being carried out.

As part of the renovation works on the tunnels, the old lighting system was upgraded to high-powered LED lights. But the new lighting system came in for a barage of social media commentary over the strong intensity of the lights, especially at night.

Borg said that as part of the final phase of works, settings and testing will be carried out that will see a regulation of the light intensity. They will change brightness according to the time of day to help road users adjust their vision when entering and leaving the tunnels, improving road safety.

Technical assessments of the tunnels’ condition, commissioned in 2018, concluded that while they were structurally sound, they needed substantial maintenance works and repairs.