Mtarfa residents who left home later than usual were in for a surprise on Wednesday morning when they found that the only road in and out of the locality was inaccessible due to roadworks which coincided with the change in direction of the locality's exit point.
Triq San David and Triq il-Kav Vincenzo were the only two roads in and out of the locality until last week. The latter road was recently upgraded and following a request by the local council, it became a one-way road into Mtarfa.
One resident said he was meant to drive to a VRT appointment when he found that the road out was blocked and there was no way he could leave Mtarfa. He said there were no warnings and residents were not told about the work.
He said that when he complained to Infrastructure Malta, he was told that the agency had uploaded a post on Facebook.
“I appreciate the effort to build a new road, however, if an ambulance is needed in my area, there is literally no access at the moment, with an old people's home just opposite! Can you kindly clarify in urgency what we need to do about this?” the resident said in an angry email to Infrastructure Malta CEO Frederick Azzopardi.
“I was going to take my car for its VRT as per my appointment today but had to cancel since we had absolutely no warning from you guys about this. Would have appreciated a simple warning, not a Facebook post after you peeled off the entire road,” he added.
The resident said that after his complaint, he received a call from the contractor who told him that they had a ramp for emergency vehicles so if he needed to leave the locality he could use it.
In its post on Facebook uploaded at 1.56pm on Tuesday, IM said it was starting an upgrade of San David Road, and advised drivers and residents who follow Facebook that part of this long road and part of Il-Kavallier Vincenzo Bonello Road, which are joined, would be closed during works for the next two weeks.
It said that access to buses, emergency vehicles and to school transport vehicles would remain open during the work.
A spokesperson for IM told Times of Malta that diversion routes had been set up in consultation with the Mtarfa Local Council, which communicated this temporary traffic management plan to residents through its social media channels.
One of the diversion routes is through Sir Leslie Rundle Road. This road is temporarily open as a two-way road to facilitate easier flows in the locality while works are in progress in San David Road.
He said Transport Malta officers are on site during works to assist road users and to ensure access to emergency vehicles to all areas around San David Road, including a nearby home for the elderly. A diversion route for school transport buses is also in place.
Since San David Road forms part of a public transport route, a shuttle service to and from the Rabat bus terminus is also in operation for passengers travelling to and from Mtarfa. These measures will remain in place until the ongoing works are ready, towards the end of next week.