Resurfacing work to repair the ‘wavy’ parts of the Mellieħa Bypass, which cost taxpayers €2 million, are yet to be carried out, despite the government’s pledge that it would be done at the turn of the year.

Completed in June last year, the project was mired in controversy from the very start in the wake of the decision to narrow part of it and accommodate a service road next to a massive block of apartments under construction. 

Faced with a public outcry, the government said it would be “reconstructing” the bypass and retain the four-lane configuration. 

However, once the project was completed it transpired that the speed limit in the narrow part had to be halved to 40 kilometres per hour for safety reasons. The controversy was revived a few months later, when motorists started complaining that parts of the newly-laid asphalt were bumpy. 

The contractors would start the job as soon as possible in the coming weeks

Last October, Labour MP Clayton Bartolo flagged the matter in Parliament to Transport Minister Ian Borg. In his reply Dr Borg said that tests were under way on the quality of the asphalt itself, and the “longitudinal regularity” – the term used to determine if the bumps or depressions are within acceptable limits. 

From another parliamentary question, this time filed by Opposition MP Chris Said, it transpired that parts of the arterial road had to be resurfaced as they were not up to standard. Furthermore, the Transport Minister had insisted that the contractor would have to carry out the work at his own expense.  

Infrastructure Malta, which was responsible for this project, pointed out that the resurfacing would be done after the festive period. Yet, nearly two months down the line, the bumpy ride along parts of  bypass is still there.

Asked when the repairs would be carried out, a spokesman for Infrastructure Malta declined to give a specific timeframe saying that the contractors would start the job “as soon as possible in the coming weeks”. 

According to the spokesman all the required assessments on the road quality were only completed this month, even though preliminary tests had immediately indicated that parts of it were not up to scratch.