Automated bollards installed in May last year as part of a €235,000 tidal lane system to alleviate traffic congestion in Marsa have been out of service for months.

Consequently, the system is being operated manually through the use of plastic barriers, which have to be moved to and fro twice daily to change the direction of traffic along Sir Paul Boffa Avenue.

Announced in October 2015 to mitigate rush hour gridlock near the Addolorata Cemetery, the project was delayed by several months and only came into operation seven months later.

The system is being operated manually through the use of plastic barriers, which have to be moved to and fro twice daily

The contract had been awarded to Q-Free Traffico following a call for quotations, despite exceeding the €100,000 public procurement threshold beyond which contracts must to be awarded by tender. At the time Transport Malta justified the decision saying the original estimate for the works was below this cap.

Through this tidal system, three of the four lanes are dedicated to Valletta-bound traffic during the morning rush hour until the afternoon, when the flow is reversed back to the original configuration of two lanes on each side. This is done by means of traffic lights and automated bollards.

However, the system has been idle since August, when the bollards were replaced by plastic barriers.

Asked for an explanation, a Transport Malta spokesman referred to the roadworks being carried out at the Paola end of this arterial thoroughfare, as well as to diversions in the pipeline which will come into force once the multi-level junction project start on the other side in Marsa.

While noting that the junction in Paola is being improved to tackle the bottleneck near Corradino Hill by creating more space for buses, no explanation was given for how or why, the automated tidal lane system has not been operational since August.