Updated 6.50pm

Hour-long traffic jams hit central areas, especially Qormi, St Venera and Ħamrun as a section of the Mrieħel bypass was close for asphalting.

On Tuesday afternoon, Infrastructure Malta uploaded a Facebook post to say that part of northbound carriageway of Mriehel bypass from Qormi roundabout will be closed for final asphalt laying.

They advised drivers to find alternative routes through Triq In-Negozju, l-Imrieħel or Triq il-Mitħna, Qormi.

Despite the warning, the area has been choc-a-bloc with traffic since mid-afternoon as those heading to Mrieħel from Qormi found themselves stuck behind the redirected cars.

Four-day process to seal roads

The closure is part of a four-day process to properly seal key bypass roads, with closures scheduled throughout the week until Friday. 

An Infrastructure Malta spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience. The process, they said, could not be carried out overnight as the final layer of asphalt is highly susceptible to temperature and humidity changes. 

Tuesday’s delays are likely to have been the worst, they added, although other closures in the area are scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 

What to expect in the coming days

On Wednesday, workers will lay the final asphalt layer on the recently-opened Mriehel underpass, which will be closed to traffic throughout much of the day.

On Thursday, the final asphalt layer will be laid at the newly-built roundabout and both directions of Mdina Road. Rabat-bound traffic will not be affected, but traffic flowing from Rabat to Santa Venera will be diverted through the underpass. Motorists coming from Santa Venera will be diverted through Mriehel.

On Friday, workers will lay the final layer of asphalt on the southbound section of Mdina Road from Vjal Depaule to the newly-built roundabout. All southbound traffic from Rabat or Attard will be diverted through the underpass.

Works are expected to begin at around 9.30am on each of those days, lasting for up to eight hours each day.

Anger on the roads

Many expressed incredulity that roadworks were being carried out in the run-up to Christmas close to the traditional rush hour.

One commuter spent an hour and a half travelling from Fgura to Birkirkara as the already slow-moving congestion was only worsened by the closure.

"It took my mum an hour and a half to go from St Julians to St Venera. Unbelievable, they could have done the tarmac during the night," one frustrated driver said on Facebook. 

The long tailbacks impacted traffic flows further south on the island, too: by 5pm, the bright red glow of vehicles' brake lights filled the Marsa junction's many lanes, clogging up Malta's busiest thoroughfare. But by 6pm, the traffic chaos appeared to have subsided.

And as up-to-speed motorists sought alternative routes, those secondary roads quickly filled up with traffic, too. Commuters reported significant delays on Luqa's Triq il-Marsa and Mdina Road, Qormi.    

The Mrieħel bypass stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Photo: Daniel Ellul.

“I have just received the following messages,” PN spokesman Adrian Delia said on Facebook. ‘’’Marsa towards St Venera tunnels direction Mrieħel blocked all the way,’ ‘Mrieħel bypass towards Attard closed too,’ ‘Planning zero !!!’‘’

“I thought you had just announced that the Central Link has been opened!” the former PN leader said.