An underground tunnel and an efficient public transport service are better solutions to alleviating traffic congestion than the Central Link project, activists told motorists while they were stuck in traffic on Wednesday afternoon.

The activists, members of the Extinction Rebellion group, held up placards and distributed leaflets to motorists on the Rabat road, near the site where the new road project is fast taking shape in Attard. 

“Since the last action we had, we realized that people were very concerned and very interested in what we were doing,"  the  secretary general of Extinction Rebellion, Ruby Zammit, said.

She hit out at the project, lamenting the fact that it is taking up valuable agricultural land.

Most of the drivers the protesters approached praised them for what they were doing.

"What you're doing is important," one driver told activist Caroline Bianco-Petroni.

"Don't give up," and other phrases of encouragement also poured her way, she said.

The Central Link project between Mrieħel and Ta’ Qali is intended to alleviate traffic congestion in Attard's village core, but it has drawn a raft of objections from residents, farmers, and NGOs.

An appeal by NGOs was dismissed by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal and the case has been taken to the Court of Appeal.

Works were taken in hand by Infrastructure Malta at the beginning of this month.

Last week, works were halted on part of the project where archaeological discoveries were uncovered.

Infrastructure Malta described the remains as probably being vine trenches that have low historical value, however, the rock-cut trenches will be cleaned by hand and documented by archaeologists.