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Mind the gap

The Strand, Sliema. Photo: Ray Attard

Although the amount of rainfall during the last week was hardly exceptional, it was once again enough to drill large potholes in Malta's roads.

Business was brisk for puncture repairers as drivers drove through perilous potholes in different areas around the island.

One particular pothole near Chef's Choice on the Marsascala bypass caused delays on Thursday evening. According to witnesses, at least six vehicles were forced to pull over in a short time after failing to realise the depth of the pothole because it was filled with rainwater.

Similarly, vehicles sustained damage while driving through The Strand in Sliema, one of the main thoroughfares.

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Comments

Maria Spiteri (on 30/11/08)
A billboard in the south of malta saying that roads will be reconstructed has been there for years now...it was damaged with the sun and the run, and at least they had the money to redo the billboard...however the roads are still awaiting...
lgalea (on 30/11/08)
Maltese roads are the best roads on which to organize a safari

How about tourist enterprises promoting Malta for this purpose?
Andrew Cumbo (on 30/11/08)
This is what Dr. Austin Gatt shall take care of, instead getting in controversy for the construction of Ghadira new road. But since he is driven in a luxury Jaguar (financed from our taxes) he doesn’t take care of us and all the damage these roads cause in our cars.

Charles Sammut (on 30/11/08)
It's not just vehicles which get damaged. It is our vertebra as well. Ask anyone who has to use a vehicle in the course of his work. People who drive around all day, such as salesmen and delivery men suffer from chronic bad backs.

Until such time as a movement/association is set up to sue the ADT for damages suffered and see the case all to way to its successful conclusion, this government will keep laughing in our faces and the opposition will just sit pretty doing nothing, something it excels in.
Albert Bezzina (on 30/11/08)
The new car tax regime is meant to encourage us to switch to smaller more efficient cars.
Potholes are large enough to rip off a whole wheel and suspension arm complete with dampers and springs from any small car.
T.Xuereb (on 30/11/08)
Not only do we pay a ridiculous amount just to be able to drive (absurd insurance prices, car registration, road tax, license etc etc) but we also have to spend a fortune fixing our cars, for all the damage caused by our so called "Roads". We should start sending our bills to the government every time we incur any costs resulting from the bad state of our roads. I was unlucky enough to witness some government "workers" fixing some pot holes (which looked more like craters from the moon) this week in the north of Malta. I could not help but laugh as it was so painfully obvious that the next time a few drops fall from the sky, the road will be back to square one as always. Why can't we do anything properly in this country????? Can it be really that difficult to do a road up properly??
John Gauci (on 30/11/08)
Unfortunately not enough people were tired of this situation last election round. So now we will have to put up with more of the same. Until someone makes it their election cry to fix the roads properly, gets voted in and does it for real. Or am I daydreaming here? Perhaps an election every three years and more would get done in this country. And less abuse.
j.chircop (on 30/11/08)
umbad immorru ghand tal VRT u aqta x jajdilna? " xbin, marlek is suspension. fifty euro to sewwieh." u int tajd f qalbek, dan kif mar? mela jien qatt mort offroading bil karozza? hehe. umbad tirrejalizza li wara halba xita, bla ma trid tmur offroading.
clive borg (on 30/11/08)
Things that never change! for sure tax registrations changed and they want to encourage us to buy new cars but with these roads, no thanks i prefer to continue running with an old car on the road...
Antoine Grima (on 30/11/08)
What i'd really like to know is , were does the money collected for road licences go ? Prices always going up with nothing to show for. I would not mind paying some of my hard earned money for a return of a good service . But as always , we are paying a large chunk of our wages for services that are really just a joke .
Phil Pryce (on 30/11/08)
We can beat our gums in this forum till the next election and nothing will be done, and I don't just mean the roads. I have lived in a lot of countries and this is the first time my suspension repair bills are three times as much as my insurance...and that isn't cheap either. Do ministers responsible for these matters ever read this forum? Are they not ashamed? Or do they just shrug their shoulders and say.. "Who cares? We are in power now!!"
Adrian Sciberras (on 30/11/08)
Yes, the hole near Chef Choice is a crater. Luckily I managed to swerve in the final second (literally) to avoid the puncture, a fate of the two persons I have seen a few meters further up. So it was not just six but probably 50 people in two days at least!

Sadly enough, it will probably take a week to fill this hole.

Even more sad is the billboard a few meters up which promises the road to be resurfaced, a broken promise for 2 years, and again another promise in this last budget, which I am sure it will be broken again, as it has been year after year.

The govt should subsidize 4 wheel drives at least.
R.Gauci (on 30/11/08)
Well this photo shows the whole situation in Malta! On one side of the road you have the Xmas decorations ( StilelI u Xinxilli) and on the other a crater!
Charles Sammut (on 30/11/08)
This government has been in office for 20 years and has not been capable of providing decent roads.

Yet motorists are taxed to death through registration tax, VAT, excise duty on fuel, road tax, fines, MOT's etc.

Something just is not right in the way road building and repairs (?) are carried out. There is either gross incompetence, in which case the minister responsible should resign or there is gross corruption, in which case the minister should resign.

www.maltaroads.com

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