Going round and round, to nowhere

While residents in the Saudi capital have commended the big revamp being given to Riyadh’s roads, many continue to suffer because of never-ending traffic rerouting in various parts of the city.
Two major projects that have been constantly cited by residents are the underground tunnel along King Abdullah Road and a similar project near the old Riyadh airport.
“I suffer delays in my work-related appointments because authorities fail to announce rerouting schedules,” said an Asian engineer who requested anonymity.
Others said that they are late in reporting for work in the morning since they have to take their children to school beforehand.
They said that traffic has been rerouted along King Abdulaziz (also called Airport Road) and Olaya streets, in addition to other main thoroughfares in the city.
A Filipino mechanic residing in the area said that city residents who don’t normally take Sitteen Street get lost if they go to other parts of the city, such as the Suleimania district.
“Drivers can only grumble to themselves after finding that they have lost their way. This is exacerbated by a slow traffic flow or because other drivers are either sending SMS messages or talking on their cell phones,” he said.
A Pakistani limousine driver, Muhammad Ali, added that “this has caused irritation in the past that almost led to an accident.”
“A driver got annoyed because the limousine in front of him was very slow. He tried to overtake and nearly plowed down a pedestrian in the process,” he said.
Nour Noubi, a Bangladeshi, said: “Drivers need more discipline. Aside from being careful not to be caught by Saher cameras, they also have to be patient with heavy or rerouted traffic.”
He added that in the long term, they will benefit from the road projects that caused the traffic rerouting that they are now suffering from.