Asphalt tracks and heavy machinery have once again encroached Żebbuġ’s Vjal il-Ħelsien just a few months after the main road leading to the village was rebuilt and supposedly completed.

Żebbuġ major Alfred Grixti said works were being carried out to correct defective parts of the thoroughfare.

“The council wants works to be done properly and we have asked the contractor to rectify the sub-standard parts of the road after many complaints by residents,” he said.

The mayor said the works being carried out were at the contractor’s expense and the council would not pay any more than the €1.1 million spent on the project.

Żebbuġ residents who contacted The Times said they were surprised that works have to be carried all over again a few weeks from the completion of a year-long project.

“This just shows that the council and its contractors didn’t have a plan of works. It’s a shame that a road which was completed just a few weeks ago has to be redone,” a resident said.

“After suffering so much inconvenience for the resurfacing of a 500-metre road, it seems that the inconvenience is not over,” another complained.

The works, which started on Thursday, cover large parts of the road and include scarifying and the laying of fresh asphalt.

The Sunday Times recently reported that works on the road were stalled for months after its architects – Med Design Associates – failed to make provisions to procure lightbulbs in the original tender.

Replying to the council’s claims, the architects said it was the council’s fault as it “didn’t heed our advice.”

Following months of discussions, the council issued a new tender for the bulbs.