MAKKAH: A remarkable achievement of this year’s Haj is the completion of the fourth story of the Jamrat bridge, which has a total capacity to hold 300,000 pilgrims per hour.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah opened the SR4 billion expansion project on Dec. 30, 2006. Now completed the bridge has a total capacity to accommodate five million pilgrims with the utmost safety.
Its foundations are built with the capacity to support up to 12 stories. The last story cost SR800 million to construct. Each story is 950 meters long and 80 meters wide. The first floor, which is 12 meters high, has entrances from the southern and northern pedestrian roads of Mina. The second floor, meanwhile, provides direct entry for pilgrims coming from Makkah.
Entrance to the third floor is through an inclined road beginning at Mina’s King Fahd Road. The huge escalators and wide stairs at the foot of the bridge make the climb to it easy.
The access to the fourth story is from the southern side of the holy sites on an inclined road at Al-Khaif Hill on King Abdul Aziz Street. A tunnel on the north side of the bridge with six tracks linking the Arab Souk and Al-Jouhara Souk in Mina will lessen traffic snags on roads and separate vehicle traffic from pedestrian routes. Another feature of the project is a special cooling system using the latest technology. The system maintains the temperature on the bridge and surrounding areas below 29 degree Celsius, and also provides a light sprinkle of water on pilgrims. The project has a capacity to hold 300,000 pilgrims per hour and this number can be increased in the future. The authorities have limited the number of pilgrims flowing to the bridge at a time in order to avoid congestion.
The space surrounding the bridge has also been expanded. An area has been set apart to keep pilgrims’ baggage. There are also arrangements in place for regular cleaning, the collection of pebbles and rapid emergency response.
As part of safety precautions, the project has taken special care to separate the entry and exit of pilgrims from the bridge.
There are arrangements to provide emergency medical attention, intervention by the Civil Defense and supervision by security forces. The project includes helipads to airlift sick pilgrims.
Sufficient space has also been allocated for barbers to set up stalls, toilets and food outlets.
The operations room can track developments on the bridge and its surrounding areas with the help of a number of cameras installed at several key points, allowing the authorities to take necessary steps in advance.
