JEDDAH: Residents have been complaining about the large number of potholes that have appeared in various parts of the city after the recent deluge that showered the city for a few hours.
“In the past, we feared rain because of the flooding it causes in this drainage-less city; now we have the additional fear of potholes that pop up after every downpour,” said Saeed Al-Ghamdi, a resident of Al-Rawdah district.
Rain is rare in Jeddah, but when it comes down hard it tends to turn city streets into canals in a relatively short period of time due to the lack of drains.
The municipality initiated a campaign in August 2008 to eliminate an estimated 28,000 potholes in the city. Rainfalls have exposed recently repaired potholes in addition to creating new ones.
According to an official release from the municipality, potholes are common in the city not just due to a lack of drainage but also due to the high number of heavy vehicles. Much of the city lacks pipe water, causing a heavy dependence on water trucks that ravage the streets. In addition to these problems, some contractors fill the holes without sufficiently packing down the loose soil before covering them with asphalt. Repaired potholes are known to reappear within weeks.
The municipality announced late last year that it had terminated a number of contracts with local companies for not abiding by the regulations and failing to meet standards for filling potholes in the streets.
“We had a big pothole in front of our house and it was repaved after we filed a complaint with the municipality. Now it has appeared again, which shows that the contractors were not doing their jobs right,” said Hatim Al-Jizawi, a resident of Al-Nuzlah district.
He said that after the recent rainfall, he saw a water tanker driving through the road over the fixed pothole. “It was like an earthquake. The asphalt under the tanker collapsed and pulled the tanker down,” he said.
Residents of the area put a barrel over the hole to warn passing motorists of the back-breaking pothole, Al-Jizawi said, adding that they have lodged another complaint with the municipality and are still waiting for the hole to be covered again — hopefully right this time.
