Updated 10.45am

Heavy traffic and delays were reported all over Malta on Monday morning, as post-secondary and tertiary education colleges reopened their doors for the new scholastic year.

Monday is also the first school day for children of several kindergartens.

It took one motorist 65 minutes to drive from Sliema to Mrieħel - a trip that does not normally take more than 20 minutes. An accident on Triq Reggie Miller, which links the top part of Rue D'Argens to the Kappara junction, forced several cars to do a U-turn, exacerbating the chaos in the area.

Meanwhile, a similar trip from Gżira that usually takes five to 10 minutes, lasted 35 minutes on Monday.

A drive from Naxxar to central Malta took double the usual commuting time, drivers reported.

One motorist told Times of Malta it took them two-and-a-half hours to make the trip from Xgħajra to Santa Venera. They left Xgħajra at 7.05am and did not come across any traffic accidents along the way.

Photo: L Skyline, Marsa flyovers

The Facebook page Maltese Roads Traffic Updates said it was inundated with traffic reports, and could not reply to all messages.

It said several accidents had so far been reported, causing major delays in different localities including Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, Żebbuġ and Regional Road.

The worst affected area, it added, was Għajn Dwieli and Marsa.

Meanwhile, Infrastructure Malta has warned that as of 10am on Monday, the northbound carriageway of Marfa Road, from Għadira Bay towards Ċirkewwa, will be closed to traffic for the following three weeks.

The southbound carriageway will be turned into a two-way road with one lane in each direction.

In an attempt to cushion the perennial traffic problem, the government introduced a free bus service from Saturday.