A set of four poles that appeared overnight on the Mrieħel Bypass left many confounded, including the transport authorities, who admitted they knew nothing about them.
Erected a fortnight ago near the Malta Financial Services Authority, the highly visible red-and-white poles topped with a metal box aroused the curiosity of passing motorists.
Readers who contacted this newspaper questioned whether the poles were new versions of roadside assistance telephone boxes, which were commonplace before the advent of mobile phones.
Some speculated that they would be used for the installation of average-speed cameras, which monitor vehicle speed over a distance.
However, the transport watchdog said it knew absolutely nothing about them. A Transport Malta spokeswoman said the regulator had only learnt about them through the public.
She noted that having looked into the matter after receiving information from the public, it transpired the poles were not covered by the necessary permits. Furthermore, enquiries with the relevant authorities and agencies failed to shed any light on the poles or who was behind them.
Transport Malta opted to remove the illegal poles once nobody had claimed ownership of them, the spokeswoman added.