Footpath slabs have collapsed again in the Kirkop tunnels and cyclists are demanding immediate action.

The tunnels are a vital link for cyclists, but the path is also used by pedestrians, and while repairs have been carried out over the years, the safety hazard remains, because slabs cave in at different parts of the footpath from time to time.

At the end of August, the Bicycle Advocacy Group wrote to Transport Malta, informing it that three slabs had caved in.

Slabs have collapsed at different parts of the footpath in the Kirkop tunnels.

The holes they left were so large that part of the plastic barriers placed over two of them fell through, the group noted.

BAG asked TM to put a notice on the electronic signs at the beginning of the tunnels, warning drivers that there might be pedestrians or cyclists sharing the road because of the obstacles. It did not receive a reply from TM, but emergency works seem to have been carried out this week.

One hole was covered with stone slabs, while pieces of stone, other slabs, metal and a plastic barrier were put over the others.

This means that pedestrians and cyclists still have to move from the pavement and onto the carriageway.

The dangerous state of the footpath in the Kirkop tunnels has been flagged by the Times of Malta in the past.

We think it’s fair to demand immediate action rather than wait for another fatality or someone to break a leg

In 2012, cyclists told this newspaper that stone slabs on the footpath in the Kirkop tunnel had caved in four times that year. The fourth collapse came days after BAG welcomed a law allowing cyclists to ride their bikes on tunnel footpaths.

While the issue needs a long-term plan, the group is “demanding an immediate solution” to the dangers faced by all users of the footpaths.

They said that while in the past contractors laid steel plates over missing slabs, for the last few weeks pedestrians had been expected to clamber over obstructions, balance on the kerb or step down onto the carriageway.

“We think it’s fair to demand immediate action rather than wait for another road fatality or someone to break their leg climbing over the damaged parts,” Jim Wightman from BAG said.

BAG believes the problem is a result of repeated flooding, particularly on the Luqa-bound side, which over time corroded the reinforcing bars in the slabs. However, only the slabs that cave in are replaced, and the ones that seem on the brink of collapse are left as is.

Questions sent to the transport authorities remained unanswered.