New Jeddah traffic study under way

A specialist company has started implementing a plan to provide an accurate record of the traffic in Jeddah.
Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, director general of the studies and design department at the transport and traffic engineering directorate of the Jeddah mayoralty, said: "The purpose of the project is to update the traffic count data in Jeddah."
"It is a three-year contract, and was awarded to a local consultancy specializing in this kind of work. The company is now doing the preparatory work for the project," he told Arab News.
Meanwhile, a SR 100-million overpass on Madinah Road was officially opened last week. "The purpose of the project is to ensure the flow of vehicles on Al-Amal Street and to alleviate traffic jams there," Al-Ghamdi said.
"The bridge has six lanes on each side. We expect that it will accommodate about 7,000 to 8,000 vehicles per hour during rush hour. During normal traffic this number goes down by half," he said.
The construction of the overpass was awarded to a local company and is one of 29 projects approved by the mayor's office to cope with an increasing population and rising tourist numbers.
Mahir Abd Al-Wahab, who lives in Jeddah, said he was happy when the overpass opened. "This is a vital overpass for Jeddah, since it is located at the entrance to the city. It will help ease traffic and alleviate traffic jams," he said.
"Prior to the opening of the overpass, a drive could take up to one hour. Now we can do it in minutes," he added.
Salih Al-Hashim, general supervisor of the road network in Jeddah governorate, said that the overpass has three entrances.
Sami Nawwar, spokesman for the Jeddah mayoralty, said that the overpass would free traffic from Al-Amal Street so that it will go parallel to Hera Street, to increase traffic between east and west. He said there would be landscaping around the project area.
He also announced that before the start of Ramadan, three projects would be launched in the city including an underpass at the intersection of Prince Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz Road with Amir Majid Road.