Be it at local or national level, the government has regularly boasted about the state of our roads and the work that has been carried out to keep them in good shape. It is a known fact that several new roads have been built and others have been maintained.

But it is also clear that there are many other roads that either need to be rebuilt from scratch or else heavily repaired.

One such road is the one that crosses the San Gwann industrial estate, the one that leads from Mater Dei Hospital to San Gwann. While at it, the road that continues on towards Sliema Road also needs to be seen to.

Here, the road has partially collapsed in many places, maybe because of the heavy vehicles and thousands of other small cars that use it every single day. It is practically impossible to avoid the dips in the road, and it is a miracle that accidents are avoided when vehicles swerve one side or another to try to have a smooth ride.

Of course, this is just one of the many stretches that should be a priority. There are many others that have not undergone repair work over many years.

While saying this, we must also point out that Transport Malta should come up with better plans when major arteries are to be closed for maintenance. Too often, drivers are left stranded because no diversion signs are installed to help them on their way and, added to this, there have been occasions when work taking place was the cause of heavy traffic jams just because no one bothers to inform drivers of possible alternatives.

A case in point was what happened along the main road linking north to south last Saturday week. Work taking place near the Marsa shipbuilding affected traffic as far back as the Kappara roundabout, and drivers took 45-50 minutes to make it from one point to the other. It is such a shame that these things are allowed to happen.

Roads have always been a sore point in Malta and, with the continuous increase in the number of vehicles on the road – the advent of Arriva has not reduced the amount of traffic – the matter is becoming worse every year.

It must also be said that often the type of material used in repair work is not suitable to the needs in hand. Very often, potholes reappear after a few days. An example of this is the culverts in Birkirkara Road – near the Malta Independent offices. The last time they were repaired was just before Christmas and, yet again, they have become a danger to oncoming cars because the holes have re-emerged.