Here’s Why Super Skinny Kerbs Are Showing Up Around Malta’s Rubble Walls
Over the last few days, a photo taken of a kerb erected close to a rubble wall started going viral, as people of Malta tried to understand what the purpose of this was.
The photo, taken in Wied is-Sewda and uploaded by independent politician Arnold Cassola, shows a newly erected rubble wall, along with a kerb erected very close to it, with its width too small for people to walk on.
Apart from seeming like a waste of resources, critics said it is also a massive eyesore to have a concrete kerb extending from traditional rubble walls.
Many local environmentalists also criticised the choice, due to the kerb blocking access to hedgehogs and other animals trying to get to the other side of the rubble wall.
Lovin Malta reached out to Infrastructure Malta for an explanation on the matter, to get a better understanding of why such a seemingly new technique would be used.
“The indicated structure is not a pavement but a short stretch of kerb to protect the rubble wall and the adjacent fields from the impact of stormwater flooding,” a representative for Infrastructure Malta told the newsroom.
“Due to its topography, during heavy rainfall, this part of the road is subject to large quantities of surface runoff, as stormwater flows towards the valley from other nearby areas. The raised concrete kerb was introduced following requests from farmers to protect their fields from flooding,” they explained.
“The kerb is built along a very short stretch of road next to the agricultural land impacted by flooding and not along the entire road,” they said.
Following IM’s response on the matter, one can easily argue that any rubble wall built in the proper traditional way, would not require a kerb attached to it below to save it from flooding effects.
Images: Arnold Cassola and Mapio.net
What do you make of Infrastructure Malta’s comments?
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