Joy of villagers short-lived as road collapses within a year

MAKKAH — The joy of residents living in Al-Sadaa village has disappeared after the only road connecting them with Al-Oraydat province collapsed a little less than a year after it was completed. The road suffered from poor implementation and a failure to conform to the required specifications. People are calling on the Ministry of Transport to hold the contractor accountable and rebuild the road. One resident, Mohammad Al-Beheiri, said that their joy of using the new road that connected their village with Al-Oraydat province was short-lived. Al-Beheiri stressed that it was important for the Department of Transportation to move quickly and maintain the road after asphalt cracks have begun appearing and are growing wider. Another resident, Mohammed Ziad, said he resented the absence of control over contractors implementing vital projects. He pointed out that the majority of contractors complete projects without adhering to the standards and requirements adopted by the ministry, which is a waste of public money. He said locals avoid walking on the road for fear of falling into holes and wished for a quick remedy. Ahmed Al-Aryani criticized the mechanism by which the Department of Transportation hires contractors to implement projects. He said it was feasible for the ministry to use companies capable of completing projects to set specifications. Al-Aryani said he considered the Al-Sadaa road a waste of public money because it lasted only a few months.