An expert in road engineering at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) said the efficiency of roads is one of the important issues that directly affect people’s lives.

Hamad bin Ibrahim Al-Abdulwahab expressed concerns about the quality of roads in the Kingdom saying, “Despite the generous spending in infrastructure, particularly on roads and bridges, there is poor implementation due to the existence of untrained labor, unqualified engineers, low supervision, lack of engineers, and no practical experience in government agencies.”

Noting that high quality asphalt was needed for good roads, the expert cautioned that asphalt must meet performance standards.

“It should be rut-resistant at high temperatures, stress and crack-resistant and should also be resistant to damage due to low temperatures in the winter,” he said.

Al-Abdulwahab divided the Kingdom’s regions into three thermal zones, stressing that asphalt must be chosen and supported with plastics to meet performance standards of the target area, although all local asphalt produced by Saudi Aramco is suitable only for regions with temperatures of up to 64 degrees Celsius.

He said roads are important for development of a country, and many regions in the Kingdom have allocated a large chunk of their budget to roads.

Al-Abdulwahab said the Eastern Province (EP) is characterized by hot temperatures which heats up the asphalt on roads to a high 72 degrees Celsius in summer.

He noted that heavy trucks ply EP roads which serve industrial cities.

“Limestone crumbles under heavy loads and has high water absorption levels so it must be used with extreme caution on main roads and highways,” he said adding that the company which implemented the Jubail Industrial City infrastructure has imported high quality limestone from the United Arab Emirate.

Al-Abdulwahab expressed his hope that the railway connection between Riyadh and Makkah will help in facilitating the transfer of limestone from quarries in the west of Riyadh to the east of the Kingdom economically.

He expressed concern that the Kingdom’s roads were destroyed much before their virtual time causing huge economic losses.

“The roads industry needs technical support through the creation of sophisticated laboratories and qualified engineers who are able to implement Total Quality Management (TQM) programs,” Al-Abdulwahab underscored.