Rainwater culverts on an Iklin road that led to a motorcyclist being grievously injured are being replaced with an alternative system. 

The decision to dig up and replace the culverts on Triq il-Wied was taken by the contractor responsible, after an initial plan to await an inspection by the original system's manufacturer was delayed by COVID-19 restrictions. 

Biker hurt due to dislodged culvert

Last month, Andrea Camilleri, 25, was commuting home on his Kymco Agility motorbike when the car in front of him knocked one of the newly installed culverts out of place, causing him to drive through it and get thrown off his bike.

Left with two cracked ribs, a fractured nose as well as a fractured clavicle after the incident, Camilleri said it was the final straw and he would be giving up his motorcycle for good.

Speaking to Times of Malta after his accident, Camilleri had hit out at Transport Minister Ian Borg over the state of the newly-completed Triq il-Wied, a project derided by residents for taking some 18 months to complete.

A culvert in Triq il-Wied, Iklin, covered by a steel plate. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier. (Right) Andrea Camilleri after his accident. Photo: Andrea Camilleri

Culverts replaced rather than inspected

Roads agency Infrastructure Malta said that the new stormwater catchment in place had purposefully been designed for higher traffic loads.

“As soon as it was notified about the incident, the agency asked the contractors to inspect all catchments. They were immediately inspected to ensure they are properly secured,” a spokesperson for IM said.

The spokesperson said that the contractor had subsequently contacted the culvert system's international manufacturer to send a representative to check the installed system. Steel plates were placed over some of the culverts as a precautionary measure until that inspection could take place. 

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

But that plan was revised after COVID-19 travel restrictions meant that an inspection would not be able to take place until early September. 

"Rather than awaiting the original manufacturer, the contractor took the initiative to replace this system, at his own expense, by an alternative system of a different which is monolithic," an Infrastructure Malta spokesperson told Times of Malta on Tuesday.

"This new system eliminates the risk of the cover being dislodged, and ensuring the safety of users on site."

Triq il-Wied was closed to traffic heading down to Birkirkara on Monday and Tuesday morning, as contractors dug up culverts to replace them with different ones. Works remain ongoing. 

Triq il-Wied: A litany of problems 

Works on the one-kilometre arterial road that links Naxxar and Iklin have been plagued by problems, including a series of missed targets that saw Infrastructure Malta having to re-award the tender for works to the next best bidder, as well as a shortage of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic that delayed the project.

The road’s €1.2 million upgrade included the replacement of numerous underground networks, such as sewers and telecommunication cable ducts, as well as new footpaths.

The Infrastructure Malta spokesperson said that minor works were still being carried out and expected to be finished in the coming weeks.

“These include the installation of pelican lights at the road’s new pedestrian crossings and the embellishment of a new adjacent landscaped area, in collaboration with the Iklin local council,” he said.