Traffic gridlock at Ċirkewwa on Boxing Day

For a second consecutive year, commuters heading to Gozo on Boxing Day found themselves stuck in hours-long traffic jams as chaos once again took hold of roads leading to the Ċirkewwa ferry terminal.

Commuters reported lengthy delays, with traffic stretching as far back as the roundabout on Triq il-Marfa in Mellieħa, a junction leading to Ċirkewwa, Armier, the Red Tower and Għadira Bay.

“I waited two hours and 15 minutes just to get onto the boat,” one commuter told Times of Malta. “Someone else told me they had already been waiting for over three hours.”

Several people reported that vehicles were being diverted from Triq il-Marfa to the narrower Triq Wied Musa. However, frustrated drivers online complained of poor traffic management and a lack of enforcement.

In a post on the popular Facebook group Are You Being Served, one user criticised the spread of official presence throughout the route.

“When we want to, we can place eight Transport Malta officials at a roundabout. But this morning, everyone heading to Gozo had to rely on one policeman trying to control the selfish drivers cutting the queue. Let’s thank him — he was doing it all alone,” they said.

Several people reported delays throughout Friday. Screenshot: Facebook/Are You Being Served?

Another commuter said they had been waiting in line from the roundabout while “hundreds of other cars” overtook the queue from the terminal lane and even from the Paradise Bay side.

“It was a case where those who broke the rules got ahead, and those who followed them were punished,” they wrote. “And yes, we’re still in the queue watching the ones who overtook us boarding the ferries.”

Others were equally critical of the response by Transport Malta and LESA.

“Not served by TM and LESA officials. After an hour stuck in traffic, they diverted the route and closed the road. We had to go back and queue all over again.”

People reported unplanned diversions causing chaos. Screenshot: Facebook/Are You Being Served?

Similar scenes were reported last Boxing Day, when diversions were attributed to bad weather. This year, however, the cause of the delays remains unclear.

Transport Malta was unable to confirm the reason behind the gridlock at the time of writing.