Bottlenecks
Bottlenecks · 24 known spots
Malta's known traffic bottlenecks
Much of Malta's daily delay is not caused by accidents but by the same fixed spots every day: a road that narrows, two lanes that merge into one, cars parked where they squeeze the traffic, a junction that cannot clear its queue, a road that floods every time it rains. This page lists the ones we know about and when they are at their worst.
Known bottlenecks
Il-Ħamrun
Most often 07:00–08:00Map
It-Telgħa tal-Belt / Triq Sir Adrian Dingli
Sqaq ta' Ċampra
Triq il-Baltiku
Triq il-Madonna tas-Sacro Cuor
Triq is-Sebħ
Triq Mikiel Anton Vassalli
Balzan Valley Road
The culvert overflowed and turned the road into a river in 2022. Also reported in 2020.
During and after heavy rain
Blata l-Bajda, Ħamrun
Floods in heavy rain at the foot of the Ħamrun slope. Reported in 2020 and 2025.
During and after heavy rainMap
Burmarrad Road
Low-lying valley road — closed by flooding in 2021 with a driver trapped. Also reported in 2014; highest flood-risk rating in the national plan.
During and after heavy rainMap
Reported by a driverAdded 23 Sept
Floods
Floods when it rains
No note from the driver.
Reviewed by Malta Traffic
Gżira seafront (Triq ix-Xatt)
Run-off from the streets above collects on the seafront road. Reported in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
During and after heavy rainMap
Marsa junction underpass
The underpass below the flyovers collects water in heavy rain. Reported in 2020 and twice in 2021.
During and after heavy rainMap
Msida Creek & Msida Square
Floods in most heavy storms — the lowest point of the Birkirkara–Msida valley. Reported in 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2025. Flood relief works at the creek are still under way.
During and after heavy rainMap
Qormi valley (Triq il-Wied)
Fast, deep water with real current in major storms — cars were swept along the valley in 2021 and 2025. Highest flood-risk rating in the national plan.
During and after heavy rainMap
St Andrew's Road valley, Pembroke/Swieqi
The valley stretch below Swieqi floods in heavy downpours. Reported in 2014 and twice in 2020.
During and after heavy rainMap
Ta' Xbiex seafront
Floods in heavy rain — including on the day the regenerated front opened in 2023. Also reported in 2019.
During and after heavy rainMap
Triq Diċembru 13, Marsa
Floods repeatedly in heavy rain. Reported in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2025.
During and after heavy rainMap
Triq il-Bwieraq, Birkirkara
Part of the Birkirkara valley system; floods in heavy storms. Reported in 2014 and 2020.
During and after heavy rain
Triq is-Salini, Naxxar
Floods in heavy downpours. Reported in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
During and after heavy rainMap
Triq San Ġwakkin, Marsaskala
Residents report frequent flooding; highest flood-risk rating in the national plan. Reported in 2012 and 2023.
During and after heavy rainMap
Valley Road (Triq il-Wied), Birkirkara
The valley road turns into a watercourse in heavy rain, despite the flood relief tunnels. Reported in 2012, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024.
During and after heavy rainMap
Xatt l-Imsida, Pietà
Main waterfront road floods in heavy rain. Reported in 2012, 2022 and 2025.
During and after heavy rainMap
Know one we are missing?
Drop a pin on the map where traffic regularly gets stuck and tell us why. Every report is reviewed before it is added here.
Report a bottleneck on the mapHow this list is built
Traffic data can tell us where queues form, but not why. So every entry here is written by a person: either from our own driving and research, or from a report sent in by a driver and checked by us. Entries that started as a driver's report are marked as such.
Where an entry sits within 300 metres of one of our measured traffic hotspots, we show how many days queues were recorded there in the last four weeks. Where there is no such line, the bottleneck is real but our data has not ranked it — often because it slows traffic without stopping it.