A San Ġwann resident has been forced to start medical treatment for her asthma due to “unbearable dust” from roadworks on her doorstep.

Marlene Bell told the Times of Malta she was now taking as many as eight puffs on her inhaler every day as her house was covered in fine dust from the “endless road works”.

“These works have been going on for months now and we aren’t being told when they will finish or anything. The amount of dust is unbearable and the least they could do is try and hose it down to prevent it from flying everywhere. I deserve to be able to breathe clean air, don’t I?” Ms Bell said.

She said her house along Birkirkara Road, San Ġwann was one of several homes regularly being painted white by the dust generated by the works. Writing on Facebook, another resident, Claire Micallef said the works were not always dusty, however, when they were, her home “looked like a construction site”.

“Why is it that we don’t have standards for how construction impacts residents? I understand the need to carry out certain projects, but I’m sure there is a way to minimise the impact on us who have to live through it,” she said.

Contacted yesterday, San Ġwann mayor Etienne Bonello DuPuis said the council was receiving regular complaints from residents about the works, mostly related to the dust being generated, and the general inconvenience.

He said the works were part of preparations for the upcoming flyover junction in Kappara and several roads in the locality were being revamped.

“We have a major project scheduled for the Kappara junction and this will generate a lot of traffic. The transport authorities are preparing a number of roads in San Ġwann to be able to cope with this increased traffic flow,” he said. Mr Bonello DuPuis said the works were a double-edged sword as while they posed an inconvenience to residents, they would also see the locality given a newly resurfaced road network.

“We as a council would not have afforded to carry out such extensive roadworks so at least we are getting new roads out of this inconvenience,” he said, adding that these were expected to be completed by March.

This was confirmed by Transport Malta, which said it was currently planning a “full road closure” to enable the reconstruction of the road’s upper layers. The works, which were on schedule, will be concluded by the end of March, it said.