The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) has opened an investigation into the reasons behind the delay in the implementation of the bridge project at the intersection of Tahliah Street and Prince Majed Street in Jeddah. The probe will also cover the causes behind the recent collapse of the scaffolding, which was used to prop up beam No. 19, local daily Al-Madinah reported yesterday.
Work on the project started in August 2008 and was to have been completed in 24 months, but remains unfinished. A team from Nazaha visited the site and met with the engineers, contractors and supervisors of the project. Following the meeting, which lasted for two and a half hours, the team was handed over a file consisting of 300 pages including the contracts and execution phases.
During its field inspection visit, the team photographed the works that were being done at the project and filmed the site of the collapse and the scaffolding being used in the construction.
The project, worth more than SR 138 million, consists of an overpass and an underpass, each with three lanes in both directions.
The project faced a number of problems that led to the stoppage of work. The first one was the delay in obtaining the approval of the Traffic Department for the detours, as the area of the project is a crowded one. The project was redesigned and work continued again, to be stopped this time after a fire caused by oil leaking from a nearby petrol station. Work on the scheme was halted for a third time when underground water started to leak, which affected the concrete and the reinforced steel.
Work on the project resumed early in Ramadan under a decision by Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Prince Mansour bin Miteb. The minister asked the contractor to supply him with an execution schedule according to which the project was to be opened within 15 days. Work on the ill-fated bridge had to stop for the fourth time when the scaffolding collapsed.
Mayor of Jeddah Hani Abu Ras has constituted a technical committee to investigate the reasons behind the collapse of the scaffolding and to come up with the necessary recommendations to complete the project.
Nazaha to investigate accident at scaffolding site
