The news that 8.5 kilometres of roads will be asphalted within a short space of time over the coming weeks must have been welcome by motorists.

Over the past months, several important arteries were closed to traffic as the government continued its campaign to have better roads. This obviously led to several complaints that drivers were taking much longer to arrive from point A to point B.

Now, it seems that this problem will soon be overcome, at least where these particular roads are concerned. Because, let us face it, there are several other stretches that are planned to receive a makeover in the next few months.

The current projects involve five main roads – Mdina Road between Zebbug and St Dorothy’s School, Siggiewi Road, the stretch between two roundabouts in the limits of Mtarfa, Tal-Qlejja in Zebbieh and the Qormi to Luqa stretch.

All are important arteries that needed attention, and all projects fell under the Fifth Italo-Maltese protocol. In all, 35,000 tonnes of tarmac will be laid to bring them up to European standard. The fact that it is expected that these roads are finished before the start of the scholastic year – which always adds to the amount of traffic at peak hours, especially in the mornings – will also help.

It has been said that the type of gravel, brought over from Italy, is coarser and harder than that was previously used and that another 15 years will have to pass before the roads need to be resurfaced. One hopes that the calculations are correct.

Roads are always a matter of public debate in Malta. With the huge amount of cars that are on our roads, it is imperative that they are kept in ship-shape condition – although at the same time it must be realised that it is not always possible to do so.

Still, it must also be admitted that over the past years we have seen an improvement on the way the new roads have been constructed and are being constructed. No doubt, much more needs to be done to cover the whole of Malta and Gozo.

This inevitably means that, once these stretches are open to traffic, others will be closed and therefore diversion and congestion problems will be created elsewhere.

It is therefore imperative that the planning of such projects is done meticulously to reduce the inconvenience to motorists as much as possible. Roads that are not normally used but will be once major arteries are closed for refurbishment must be good enough to cater for increased traffic.

Added to this, the time taken between the start and finish of road projects must be reduced to the minimum. Too often it has taken too long to complete the work involved.

We are saying this both for projects that the government undertakes on roads that fall under its jurisdiction, and those under the responsibility of local councils. Every effort should be made to carry out the work – which is, after all, necessary – in the least time possible.

Judging by the amount of complaints that are received both by The Malta Independent and other media organisations, it seems that there are several occasions when there seems to be a lack of planning. Sometimes roads – in particular internal streets, not main arteries – are closed without a suitable alternative found.

Drivers have, for example, reported that much to their frustration they have had to reverse through narrow roads because, once they drive through, they find out that they cannot continue with their journey because of the work involved and also because alternative routes are either one-way stretches or blocked by a crane.

Therefore, while the work that is being carried out must be commended because, after all, it will make driving easier, attention must be given to the small but important details that several times are overlooked.