JUBAIL: An expanded roadway and lighting from end to end is making travel on the Dammam-Jubail Highway much more enjoyable and safer.
The 100-km highway has been expanded from four to six lanes with shoulders. For the first 38 km of the highway between Dammam and Qatif, a service road adds an additional six lanes for motorists. Now streetlights guide the way at night.
Saudi Arabia's industrial base continues to expand at Jubail, particularly in desalination, refining and petrochemicals, and the government has been working to improve the infrastructure supporting the growing city of about 150,000 residents.
“I have been using this highway ever since I landed here in the Eastern Province in 1995 as an engineer,” said Mohammad Rahat Sultan, who looks after Jubail projects as executive manager for Mohammed M. Al-Qarni Sons Co.
“Initially I was located in Jubail, but I had my family in Dammam, so I had to commute between the two cities on a daily basis. The highway has undergone tremendous changes. In the earlier days, it was very narrow; it is pretty wide now. We have three lanes on each side,” he said.
“Even the divider has shrunk, and there is more lane space now.”
The highway handles a fair amount of truck traffic traveling along the industrial corridor, and the third lane each way makes it easier for truckers and other motorists to share the road. As with many highways in the Kingdom, the combination of darkness and speeding motorists has sometimes proved to be fatal. “People dreaded driving after sunset on this highway because it was notorious for very bad accidents,” said M.A. Hasnain, national sales manager at Abdulla Fouad Holding Company's Mantech Software Division, who uses the highway regularly.
“Now that there is plenty of light, driving will be a much more relaxing affair.”
Traffic police also are increasing enforcement efforts on the Dammam-Jubail Highway as well as other Eastern Province highways, which should further enhance safety for motorists.
“I used the highway last night,” Rahat Sultan said, “and I have nothing but praise for the authorities and this excellent service they have provided.”
