A hole on the ground near a sewage cover at Al-Rawdah District. This hidden trap has wreaked havoc on cars and their drivers for more than a year. (AN photo by Hasan Hatrash)

JEDDAH, 13 January 2008 — Anyone who has spent any time in Jeddah will know that road projects are a way of life. From an ongoing sewage infrastructure project started two years ago to the more recent drive to replace roundabouts with flyovers, Jeddah always seems to be a work in progress, and locals have become experts on navigating detours and alternate, traffic-clogged routes.

According to a municipal official yesterday, the municipality has issued millions in fines to local contractors for safety violations and shoddy construction while installing sewage pipes across the city.

“The municipality issued SR3 million worth of fines to contractors during 2007,” said municipal spokesperson Ahmad Al-Ghamdi.

One of the more common fines pertains to the shoddy repaving of roads after pipes have been installed. Contractors are supposed to completely and adequately repair any damages caused in pipe installation.

The problem is that there are many holes and stalled projects and contractors are not responding as fast as they should, said Al-Ghamdi, adding that the municipality has filed a number of lawsuits against some of the contractors who were not responding in fixing the damages they have caused.

“The municipality is currently using its own funds to repair what was damaged by some of the contractors,” he said.

The municipality is blaming the contractors for the delays in completing projects, because the municipality must constantly check on projects and then move in to repair any road damage that has been left behind, extending the amount of time streets or lanes are closed. Potholes are common around newly installed manholes, and it is often left to local residents to demarcate these jarring, suspension-system-shattering holes.

It’s common to see impromptu warnings, like red buckets or broomsticks with rags tied on them, marking off particularly egregious and neglected holes.

“My car was damaged twice this year because of those unexpectedly dangerous holes in the streets,” said Ahmad Ashoor, Saudi middle-aged government official.

Ashoor describes a road project in his neighborhood where some of the newly laid asphalt around the manhole crumbled away only a few days after the project was completed, leaving behind a crevice that wreaks havoc on unsuspecting drivers. The hole, he said, has been there for over a year.

“After seeing two cars damaged by the hidden trap, we had to cover the hole with rocks and erect a small sign to warn drivers,” he said. Saeed Al-Ghamdi, a Saudi resident of Al-Aziziah, said that contractors in his neighborhood have been scratching away on the same stretch of road for over a year.

“The digging takes place for a while and then it stops for a few months,” he said.

“This is causing a lot of inconvenience. I’ve seen similar projects in other districts that didn’t take more than two months to finish. Even though we’ve complained to the municipality, nothing has been done about it.”