Hussein Kalkatawi, director of the roads department at Jeddah Municipality, told Arab News demolition work on two bridges has already started. They are located near the Air Force Academy and Pilgrims’ City. He added all construction and demolition work, part of the Haramain Railway project, is expected to be completed within 900 days.

“Demolition work at these places has not hampered the smooth flow of traffic in those areas. However, when the demolition of bridges starts at locations with a large concentration of people, it would have a negative effect,” he said.

He added that bridges to be knocked down include those near King Abdul Aziz Airport as well as the Briman, Tahliya, Palestine Street and Jamia bridges.

Jeddah continues to remain the home of several ongoing mega transport projects aimed at reducing congestion in various parts of the city. Some of these projects have already been completed.

However, there are concerns that construction work on the Haramain Railway would create traffic congestion along the busy expressway.

The Ministry of Transport is now working on a new plan to facilitate the movement of traffic on the expressway during the ongoing demolition works of bridges along the road, linking the eastern and western parts of the city, to make way for the rail network.

Hussein said all necessary arrangements have been made to facilitate smooth traffic flow in coordination with concerned ministries and departments. This was also in line with the directives of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal.

Vehicles have already been diverted onto alternative roads as part of the new plan.

After the completion of demolition work, traffic flow will resume from the western part of the city and then from the east. The new traffic arrangements include opening a number of new entry and exit points.

Hussein said the Ministry of Transport is currently carrying out studies on implementing the most suitable train network for the city.

“The agency is examining whether a metro or monorail is the best and ideal solution for reducing the traffic congestion in the city. Even though a final decision is yet to be taken on the matter, we have crossed a major phase in this regard, and will disclose details in the near future,” he said.