AL-AYSAH, 5 August 2007 — Less than a month after the opening of a new expressway running through the Al-Asyah Governorate linking Hafr Al-Baten to Qasim, residents in Al-Asyah are expressing concern over increased numbers of overloaded trucks traveling through the region to the northern regions of the Kingdom and Kuwait.
At an emergency meeting, Al-Asyah Municipality has called upon the authorities to install a weighing station to monitor overloaded trucks to prevent the road from prematurely deteriorating, said Abdullah Bin Mahdi Al-Onazy, mayor of Al-Asyah and head of the Al-Asyah Municipality.
“We’re surprised at the sudden increase of traffic after the opening of the new road to Hafr Al-Baten and the northern region through Al-Asyah and Qibah,” he added.
As a result of the increasing level of traffic, Al-Onazy has called on concerned authorities, including the Transport Ministry and traffic officials, to consider using a mobile or static scale to monitor the weight of trucks and ensure they fall within the weight stated by traffic department.
Cement trucks are the main concern for the Al-Asyah Municipality, as the roads in this small governorate are unable to withhold overweight trucks. The problem is further exasperated by the fact that the Qasim Cement Company is just 40 km west of the Al-Asyah region.
“These cement trucks have international number plates, mainly Kuwaiti... They increase their profitability by carrying extra weight... Instead of carrying 500 bags of cement, a company can double its profit by increasing its load in a single trip,” said one of Al-Asyah’s citizens.
Overweight trucks can cause serious problems to roads. Road safety advocates have estimated that a truck weighing 80,000 pounds can do as much damage as nearly 10,000 cars.
“The newly completed road has shortened the journey from Hafr Al-Baten to Buraidah by 200 km allowing trucks and passengers to change their routes from Zulfi and Ortawiah to the newly opened road through the Al-Asyah and Al-Dahnaa desert. If I’m coming from Arar in the northern region and wishing to perform pilgrimage or Umrah, I certainly go through this road,” said Abdullah Al-Mutairy, a Saudi citizen.
“I expect more traffic when the season of pilgrimage approaches and schools reopen,” he added.
“The new route also has a link to Hail making it easy for Eastern travelers to go through Al-Asyah instead of making the long journey through Zulfi and Buraidah. This is another reason for the need to monitor road safety along this road,” said Abdullah Al-Shuqiaq, a resident of Al-Asyah.
