Patches on Dwejra road

Patching roads is an insult to road engineering. I refer to my letter "The state of Dwejra and its roads, limits of Rabat" (The Sunday Times, November 5).

On December 1 men turned up to patch (à la Maltaise) the road from the bridge down to Mgarr. I asked the leading man why the top road to Victoria Dwejra Lines, the tourist attraction, was not being patched.

He said he was following instructions and that other people had spoken to him about the disgraceful state of the road.

We cannot drive here. I have been here since 1948 and remember the cart lanes. There were very few cars but somehow the road was asphalted. After a few months, with today's heavy vehicles, one has to drive on humps and avoid potholes as a result of the poor foundation. So patching the roads is a waste of money.

Following complaints from residents, the local council's architect Mr J. Borg Grech, turned up to have a look at Torri Falka and Dwejra roads on April 14, 1999, and compiled a report to the Roads Department. In it he wrote:

"It has been noted that extensive damage has been done to this road in recent months by heavy lorries which are using the road frequently. Various areas of the road have subsided and the surface coat worn away. Localised patching would not be a solution and in fact it would be a waste of resources.

These areas need to be scarified, road foundation laid and new surface provided. Particular attention is needed to the part of the road starting from Mgarr Road for a distance of one and a half km.

"Furthermore the road culverts along this stretch of road (and another culvert across the road) have been blocked and, as a consequence, water runoff flows over the road, thus scowering the damaged surfaces. Due to the extensive repairs needed on this road which has some regional importance the council considers that this constitutes a major work and should preferably be tackled by the Roads Division."

We commissioned another architect and civil engineer - Herbert De Bono - to draw up a conditional report on the present dangerous state of these roads on March 12, 1999. He wrote:

"A walking tour of the said roads is more a safari rather than a pleasant country walk, always on the look out to avoid potholes and/or humps, unless one wants to risk a hospital stay for broken ankles. A drive is expensive, car repairs, etc. The road repairs that were carried out during January and February 1999 are more dumping of concrete haphazardly. It is a waste of money, energy and, above all, a disgrace to the profession of road engineering. The roads in question are frequented by commuters, farmers, residents and, above all, tourists who cherish (sic) to see the Victoria Dwejra Lines and the pleasant serene country views.

"Proper repairs should be carried out by the public authorities."

So the current patching is contrary to the architect's report, a waste of money and resources and it will not last long. One can see how backward we are. It is no wonder passers by watch these work men with contempt. Last year's patches on the asphalted road have subsided and disintegrated as there are no foundations.

It is really shameful to read (The Times, November 7) that "studies for the restoration of the Victoria Lines had not been concluded in three and a half years".

Since the British left in 1971, this beautiful area has been neglected by the tourism authorities and the locals who have no pride in their country when tourism is our main source of revenue.