This morning’s heavy traffic should not be turned into a political issue as the same problem repeats itself every year, a Transport Ministry spokeswoman said.

“Traffic havoc has remained the same when a major storm hits the country the way it did today... There’s no point in politicising the situation,” she said.

Traffic across the island was brought to a standstill this morning after a heavy storm caused a tailback which stretched for kilometres.

Asked if the national flood relief project had failed, the spokeswoman said there was no problem with the parts of the system which had been finalised.

The areas where flood relief efforts had been completed, such as Żebbuġ, Qormi, Marsa and Żabbar, had not flooded at all, she said.

Meanwhile, the remaining works in other areas would be finalised by next month.

The ambitious project aimed at alleviating the flooding problem is set to be completed by the end of November, the spokeswoman said.

Asked what she believed was still causing traffic mayhem, the spokeswoman replied: “Excessive cars on our roads, infrastructure which does not meet today’s demands, lack of discipline by drivers, and so on."

Exasperated drivers at Tal-Balal walked out of their cars. Photo: Ivan ConsiglioExasperated drivers at Tal-Balal walked out of their cars. Photo: Ivan Consiglio

 

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