The King Fahd Causeway authority is opening over 30 traffic lanes to help deal with the rush of holidaymakers heading to Bahrain for the New Year celebrations, an official said.

An expected 120,000 vehicles are expected to pass over the causeway starting from Wednesday afternoon until Friday night. During the same period last year, 80,000 vehicles traveled over the bridge.

There are currently 16 lanes open with 90 percent of them functional on normal days. Another 16 lanes would be opened on both the Bahraini and Saudi sides to ease procedures for passengers at the passport and customs checkpoints.

He said the authorities would try to avoid some of the mistakes that occurred last time. He warned Saudi families that they would have to be patient because of the congestion.

Passengers should also expect computer malfunctions because of the large numbers of passengers. There would likely be 35,000 vehicles owned by Gulf nationals crossing the bridge.

Lt. Col. Muala Al-Otaibi, spokesman for the Eastern Province passport department, said emergency plans are in place for the holidays. This includes officers being prevented from taking leave, and extra staff and shifts.