JEDDAH: The newly constructed overpass across the intersection of Quraish Road on King Fahd Road was thrown open to traffic on Thursday.
“The SR18 million-bridge with a total length of 550 meters has three lanes in each direction. The bridge, which took 15 months to complete, is one of several projects that aim to smooth the flow of traffic in Jeddah,” said Ahmad Banafi, assistant undersecretary for construction and projects at the Jeddah municipality.
Work is under way to build 22 underpasses and overpasses at a total cost of SR1 billion. Banafi said contracts worth SR1.1 billion are being processed, while 34 projects worth SR3 billion are in the design stage.
Speaking about the hurdles that delayed the completion of the new overpass, the official said an additional SR2 million was spent rectifying a problem that arose while digging foundation footings — work that was not covered in the original contract.
He said the contracting company made all efforts to smooth traffic at the intersection while the construction work was under way. “In collaboration with the Traffic Department, the contracting company took necessary steps to avoid traffic congestion while the work was ongoing. Heavy trucks were allowed to pass on the road only after midnight,” he added. The official said there was no technical flaw in the construction of the bridge, but the road’s median strip needed maintenance for a length of two kilometers.
As the work at the base of a nearby pedestrian bridge has not yet been completed, part of a lane on the overpass will remain closed for some time, Banafi said. He added that a study of traffic flow under the bridge would be carried out later and signals would be installed depending on the intensity of traffic movement.
