Abdullah Al-Amri
JEDDAH — Residents of eight districts in south Jeddah are suffering because of the long delay in completing the expansion work on Prince Fawaz bridge as it causes traffic jams, especially at the intersections of Ajawid, Adl and Kilo 10 districts.
Residents have expressed their dismay and anguish over the mayoralty’s inaction and said it should have forced the contractor to complete the project. The contractor destroyed the existing bridge but did not do anything to start the expansion project because of a conflict on contract value.
Abdul Aziz Al-Qadadi, a resident of Prince Fawaz Housing Estate, said people have been facing lots of difficulties as a result of traffic bottlenecks ever since the flyover was razed down several months ago to carry out the expansion work.
“The mayoralty should have taken action against the contractor for leaving the project without any progress in work. Residents of eight districts as well as hundreds of people who pass by the area every day suffer as a result of project disruption,” he said.
Al-Qadadi named the affected districts as Ajawid, Iskan Al-Janoubi, Prince Fawaz Residential Estate, Awali, Kilo 14, Adl, Waha and Tahlawi. He urged authorities to realize the seriousness of the problem and take quick action to solve it.
Ali Al-Salimi, a resident of Awali, said traffic situation in the area has become worse since the bridge was destroyed for expansion work several months ago. “It has become a nightmare for motorists to cross the area because of intense traffic bottlenecks.”
He said vehicles accumulate near the Southern Municipality Square, leaving the traffic to a standstill, especially during weekends and after Taraweeh prayers.
Drivers are forced to take their vehicles to Kilo 10 bridge while the road under the bridge will be congested by trucks that want to reach Al-Khair bridge or Haramain Road.
“Other motorists turn to Ajawid and pass by Sanabil to reach the coastal road to enter Al-Khair bridge or Hamarain Road,” Al-Salimi said while explaining the problems caused by the project delay.
Salim Al-Shamrani of Waha district also expressed his dismay over the authorities’ inaction to force the contractor to complete the project.
“The whole scenario of the destroyed bridge is disgusting,” he said while blaming the decision of an engineer to withdraw the project from the contractor because of a conflict on project cost.
“Now the mayoralty has to call for another tender in order to award the project to another contractor. This means the suffering of people will continue for some time,” he added.
