A tunnel leading to Cottonera has been temporarily closed for restoration works, with the poorly signposted road closure causing traffic and confusion among motorists on Saturday.

The Għajn Dwieli tunnel will be closed to traffic in both directions until 5am on Monday morning, following a similar closure last weekend.

It will be closed once again for a third and final weekend next week, with traffic scheduled to be blocked once again at 8pm on Friday until the morning of Monday, October 25.

Workers are building a temporary roof structure in the tunnel to ensure road users can access it safely while restoration works are carried out. The tunnel, which was built in 1900, will have its large shaft restored following years of neglect, stormwater catchments and pipelines upgraded and lighting improved. Workers will also install traffic surveillance cameras and new crash barriers at the site.

Infrastructure Malta warned road users of the closure at the start of October and again last week, using its social media pages.

But those warnings were not enough to prevent traffic pile-up and confusion at Triq Għajn Dwieli on Saturday, as many motorists drove down the road only to be faced with plastic road barriers at the bottom of it.

The Għajn Dwieli tunnel is a key entry and exit point to Senglea, Vittoriosa and Cospicua.

“People are heading towards the tunnel, then having to u-turn back. The road is blocked solid with cars,” a resident in the area told Times of Malta.

“A lot of people are driving down the road and not realising that the tunnel is blocked. Drivers are just doing u-turns in the middle of the road as they realise,” the resident said.