Work resumed yesterday on a dug-up street in Marsascala that has been closed for almost a month, leaving residents trapped in their homes.

The contractor said later the work was completed “within the day”.

Resident Oliver Scicluna said workers and construction machinery reappeared in Gandoffli Street yesterday morning after residents had their “belongings locked inside for more than four weeks”.

The works started one day after Mr Scicluna expressed the frustration of residents in the local media. They had been waiting for years for a decent road but were left with a dug-up road that remained in that state for the past three weeks.

“Now we just hope that the project is completed within a reasonable time frame and that the quality of the work will be satisfactory,” he said.

Transport Malta confirmed that the contractor assigned the job had been carrying out construction work sporadically on Gandoffli Street for the past seven weeks and that he had been expected to complete the job within four weeks.

The transport watchdog instructed the contractor to complete the works within the stipulated time and warned him that it would not be extending the permit beyond April 4. The contractor, Polidano Brothers said that works had started in February. On March 1, the contractors said he asked for clearance from Enemalta the levels of power cables. Transport Malta informed the contractor that the Enemalta issue had been resolved on March 23.

This was 22 days after the issue had been raised, the contractor noted. Works resumed on site yesterday, five days after the notification by the authorities, and were completed within the day, Polidano Brothers said.