Transport Minister Austin Gatt yesterday expressed outrage at the closure of the main road in Mellieħa.

He was not prepared to accept someone had to prove he was a resident to gain access to a public road

Dr Gatt told Mellieħa mayor Robert Cutajar and Transport Malta officials that their decision to bar passage through a public road to everyone except local residents was simply “unacceptable”.

In a statement, he said he had not been aware of traffic arrangements implemented in Mellieħa whereby George Borg Olivier Street was turned into a one-way road.

He told the mayor that while he was prepared to make temporary arrangements to reduce the inconvenience, he was not prepared to accept that someone had to prove he was a resident to be able to gain access to a public road.

The road is going to be re-opened to light vehicles from tomorrow, in a partial reversal of the decision. It had been closed in one direction to avoid all the traffic passing through as work takes place on the reconstruction of the Mellieħa Bypass, a project which has fallen a few weeks behind schedule. Under the new arrangement, heavy vehicles will still have to pass through the Popeye Village Road.

Wardens will no longer be stationed near the Seabank Hotel, where they have been asking motorists for their identity cards before letting them through.

Gozo businesses have welcomed the decision to reopen the main road in Mellieħa to two-way traffic but expressed frustration that they were excluded from the discussions.

A fortnight ago, the Gozo Business Chamber complained that the closure was affecting businesses and residents.

“For Gozitans this road is a natural extension of the road to and from Gozo since all the traffic has to pass through it,” Chamber President Michael Grech added.