JEDDAH: The Jeddah Municipality has finished repaving and servicing 53 roads and districts in the last three months at a cost of SR15.5 million, according to a municipal official.
Faisal Shawli, head of operations and maintenance at the municipality, said that this ongoing process of fixing the damaged roads around the city had been a priority for the municipality.
The municipality has recently launched a campaign to eliminate illegal speed bumps that have made by citizens in various neighborhoods. Locals erect these bumps on their own because of excessive speeding by motorists and a lack of adequate traffic law enforcement. Locals also complain of neglected streets, or streets left damaged for months after fly-by-night contracting work.
Khaled Al-Humaidi, a resident of Al-Rawdah district, said there were three major holes in the street near his house. “One of the holes is so deep that it could seriously damage a vehicle,” he said.
Al-Humaidi noted that the roads were so badly paved that over time they bend and crack. The shifting of the loose, sandy soil beneath the asphalt can cause depressions and holes.
He added that the district’s residents kept filling the holes with sand, a process that helps for a few weeks before the hole is dug again by passing tires.
“The final solution was to put a cement-filled bucket in front of the hole to warn drivers about the danger until the day we get saved by the municipality,” he said.
Ahmad Al-Zahrani, a resident of Al-Waziriah district in southern Jeddah, said there are many side roads in his district that don’t resemble civilization. “One of the roads in my neighborhood is called ‘hell road’ because it is full of holes and bumps,” he said.
Al-Zahrani said that he had to fix his tires and rims many times during the past three years after getting damaged by bad roads. “Bad roads are costing us a lot of money for car maintenance,” he added.
