Accidents, road works lead to traffic jams across Malta

A number of accidents during peak traffic hours led to traffic jams across the country on Tuesday morning.

Traffic accidents were reported in Mdina Road, Żebbuġ, Psaila Street, Birkirkara, Triq il-Kannoza, Balzan, Triq Buqana and Triq Censu Moran, Paola.

Commuters who spoke to this newspaper said they experienced longer commuting times on their way to work, with trips which normally take 30-minutes, taking as long as one hour.

Apart from the traffic accidents, ongoing road works at a number of localities also contributed to longer commuting times. Last week, Infrastructure Malta appealed to commuters to avoid St Andrew road in between Pembroke and Swieqi in the coming months, as extensive infrastructural works are expected to be carried out until next February.

On Monday, figures released by the National Statistics Office showed that 4,000 new vehicles joined Malta’s roads in third quarter of this year.

The increase in new registrations amounts to an average rate per day of 69 vehicles. The majority of the new vehicles were passenger cars (56%) followed by motorcycles with 18%.