Fahd Causeway congestion continues despite efforts

ALKHOBAR: Congestion on the King Fahd Causeway during holiday periods continues despite efforts to add extra lanes because many people travel over the bridge at the same time.

This is according to a source at the causeway, who rejected reports that nothing has been done by the authorities to alleviate this situation over the years. He said over 50,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day, or 1.5 million every month. These figures are higher on weekends and public holidays.
He said that when the bridge was built 27 years ago it was designed to accommodate 5,000 cars and 120 trucks per day. There has been constant widening over the past few years to accommodate the extra traffic, he said.
A short-term plan saw the removal of sidewalks and the fountain, which resulted in the number of lanes increasing from 10 to 18, raising capacity by 80 percent.
Three of the extra lanes were dedicated to specific categories of travelers, such as students at universities in Bahrain, people with special needs and diplomats.
The aim over the coming few years is to accommodate up to 250,000 daily users. The most important project is the building of islands on both sides of the bridge, which would be used for customs and passport procedures. This would see the bridge accommodate 100 million annual travelers, roughly five times the current figures, he said.