(Adds PN statement)
Although the Coast Road remains closed until Friday, traffic was mysteriously clear this morning with none of yesterday's chaos around the St Paul's Bay area.
The traffic was the result of the closure of the Coast Road for works.
This arterial road will be re-opening on Friday morning, as works on the €53 million reconstruction project are entering the final phase.
A drone fitted with a camera which was deployed by Times of Malta - at the Erba’ Mwieżeb roundabout at the entrance of St Paul’s Bay and Buġibba - showed that apart from a minor build-up on the way to Burmarrad, there was no repeat of yesterday’s chaotic scenes.
However, delays were experience by motorists going through the Naxxar By-pass.
At around 6pm, drivers complained of traffic on the road leading from Attard to Mosta past Mdina.
Transport Malta noted that the traffic issues caused by the closure of the Coast Road yesterday had improved. Motorists, it said, cooperated fully and followed instructions.
Nevertheless, it acknowledged that the closure was still causing an inconvenience for a number of people, especially those from the northern part of the island.
It urged motorists to keep avoiding the Coast Road until it reopened on Friday morning and appealed to them to use alternative routes and took the possibility of traffic into consideration when planning trips.
In a statement this afternoon, shadow ministers Marthese Portelli and Claudio Grech said the current mess being experienced on Maltese roads was the result of the government's gross incompetence.
"Whilst it is a fact that traffic congestion wasn't conceived when Labour came into power, it is also a fact that situation is becoming worse by the day. Decisions being taken by the current administration aren't helping at all, but are simply making the situation worse.
"The Nationalist Party empathises with all hurdles and inconvenience being faced by commuters - in particular with those who are arriving late for work, those who are missing scheduled appointments, as well as those people whose job requires that they are on the road, such as salespeople, deliverymen, technicians, taxi/bus/minibus drivers and many others. The Nationalist Party also empathises with the tourism industry, which is definitely effected negatively whenever such chaos ensues," they said.
Dr Portelli and Mr Grech said that the whole saga was not only Joe Mizzi's to solve, but it is also Konrad's Mizzi's.
"Going from one destination to another is taking much longer than it used to. Whilst stuck in traffic, drivers see the fuel gauge drop lower and lower, and this when Malta's fuel prices are amongst the highest in the EU.
"This is not an issue to be placed on the back-burner. Government must give it immediate attention and rather than finding stop-gap solutions and managing by crisis, Government should draw up a long-term effective plan," they said.