The Eastern Province Mayoralty will soon implement the first phase of the “Smart Transportation” project on King Fahd Road extending from the intersection at Abu Hadriah Road in the west to King Abdullah Road in Alkhobar in the east.
Fahad Al-Jubair, mayor of the Eastern Province, said the first phase of the project is expected to cost SR 25 million.
“The goal of the smart transportation project is to identify and strategically position the main and secondary access roads of Dammam, and facilitate its linking with the highways,” Al-Jubair said, adding that the project will contribute toward minimizing congestion in the area by increasing the efficiency of operational road networks.
This would also increase road safety and help in quick and speedy response of government agencies in exigencies like road accidents.
The project also provides several options including road-users communicating with the system to access traffic data and information.
“Any information on traffic can be accessed to by using the Internet, smartphones or screen displays at shopping centers,” he said, adding that future plans included installation of navigational devices in vehicles using the smart transportation system to avoid congestions as well as the access to interactive support systems with the Traffic Department.
Al-Jubair said that the proposed plans include development of an integrated design for the Central Department of Traffic in Dammam, designating locations of secondary administrative departments in Alkhobar and Dhahran and defining methods for linking and connecting the central department and secondary centers.
“The implementation of the project will be in two phases, the first covering inner Dammam, and the second covering the road to Alkhobar.”
Work on the project had already begun with the installation of billboards for various signs and messages, 12 cameras to detect accidents, congestions and data processing and 55 digital readers of car registration plates for statistical purposes. Other installations include platforms that indicate speed limits and specifying traffic lanes and a provisional control center for traffic management through collection of data.
The second phase would start from the intersection on King Fahd Road in Dammam to the 10th Street in Alkhobar.
The implementation process involves installing 130 electronic boards to show all traffic-related data and weather conditions, including wind speed and direction.
Smart transportation project to be launched in Dammam
