It is unacceptable that an arterial road such as the St Paul’s Bay by-pass, that has been closed to traffic for so long for it to be rebuilt, is not going to be opened to traffic in its entirety because a section of it has not been completed, the Labour Party’s spokesman on roads Charles Buhagiar said in a statement yesterday.

The section in question is the part that collapsed some years ago, when excavation work was being carried out beneath it.

The reason given by the government is that no agreement has as yet been reached with the contractor concerned about payment for the work in question.

Mr Buhagiar said he could not understand why no agreement had been reached so many years after the collapse. This, he said, showed a lack of commitment on the government’s part.

The government is expected to carry out the work anyway, and then take legal action if necessary, he said.