Alkhobar roads wore a chaotic look following the temporary closure of Al-Rashid underpass for maintenance coupled with bad traffic management.

The underpass near the King Khaled and King Abdullah Street intersection will remain shut for five days.

The Traffic Department urged citizens to take alternative roads to avoid congestions, but failed to take follow-up action on traffic management.

Residents, who were forced to leave early for their work place as a precautionary measure, complained about the congestion and said the decision to close down the underpass was ill-timed.

Munir Saud, who lives in one of the neighborhoods in northern Alkhobar, said it was a real ordeal for residents of the city who use the underpass on a daily basis. If the underpass is maintained in its present form and state, it will prove to be obstacle for growth and geographical development of the city.

Saad Baqsh said he hopes to reach his house before the morning prayers because of the closure of the underpass, which led to massive traffic snarls.

Yasir Saif, who studies in Alkhobar and lives in Dhahran, said he used to play the “find-the-exit” game when he was young, but now he asks himself how to get home, because there are no alternative exits and no traffic police to organize the suffocating congestion.

Bandar Ahmad said the situation in Al-Thuqba neighborhood is grave because of the unbearable congestions caused by the closure of the Al-Rashid underpass.

Abdullah Al-Salman agrees with him. “The decision to close underpass has caused immense hardship to motorists,” he said.