Castille hill to be dug up again

Merely three weeks after being resurfaced, sections of the road between the Prime Minister's office, in Valletta and the Floriana war memorial are to be dug up again because of defects in the tarmac.

The works will start this morning and are expected to be completed by early next week.

The resurfacing of Glormu Cassar Avenue was completed a few days before Queen Elizabeth II arrived to preside over the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting late last month.

In no time, however, gravel from the top layer of the road surface started being washed away by rain and a couple of holes appeared in the lower part of the road near the war memorial.

A Malta Transport Authority (ADT) official confirmed yesterday the authority had instructed the contractor to redo parts of the upper layer of tarmac - known as the wearing course - as gravel started being eroded soon after the road's completion.

There seems to be no major problems with the base layer, which was also laid recently, so road works should be completed over the coming four days, the official said.

Earlier this week, The Times enquired with the ADT whether it had asked the contractor to resurface the road but no reply was forthcoming.

A statement by the authority's public relations manager, Daniela Borg Mizzi, said yesterday the road would be closed to traffic today between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Traffic will be diverted to either Great Siege Road towards the Excelsior Hotel or towards Crucifix Hill by Sir Paul Boffa Hospital.

Traffic leaving Valletta will exit through the Mediterranean Conference Centre area and will proceed either towards Lascaris Wharf or towards Sa Maison Road, Pietà.