Ministry of Works Reports Significant Improvement in Traffic Flow Through Infrastructure Projects

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Ministry of Works has announced that recent infrastructure projects have significantly improved traffic flow in Bahrain, increasing the capacity of intersections by 40% and reducing waiting times by 30%.

The ministry highlighted its ongoing strategy to transform major intersections across all governorates, replacing roundabouts with multi-level intersections and traffic light-controlled junctions.

Notably, all roundabouts within the capital city of Manama have been replaced with signalised intersections.

In a memorandum to the legislative authority, the ministry emphasised its commitment to expanding and developing the road network, citing a significant increase in road infrastructure budget allocation.

In 2023, the ministry spent approximately 33.707.845 million Bahraini Dinars on road expansion and development projects, a 220% increase compared to the 14.866.609 million Dinars spent in 2022.

The ministry outlined several key projects currently underway, including the Al Fateh Road Development. This strategic project, now complete, aims to improve traffic flow in a key arterial road.

The ministry also outlined the Al Janabiya Road Expansion project. This project will expand Al Janabiya Road to three lanes in each direction, benefiting residents of Salman City, Al Budaiya, Al Janabiya, and surrounding areas. The expansion will improve traffic flow, increase capacity, and enhance safety for road users, the ministry stated.

The ministry also highlighted the expansion of the Al Jasra elevated intersection (ramp number 1), which has doubled the capacity for traffic coming from the north on Al Janabiya Road, heading towards Shaikh Isa bin Salman Highway eastbound towards Manama.

It also outlined the development of Al Riya Road, from its intersection with Arad Road to its intersection with Road 12, transforming it into a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction.

Furthermore, the ministry informed that it is working on constructing the elevated left turn bridge from Al Janabiya Road onto Shaikh Isa bin Salman Road, aiming to develop the Al Jasra intersection and increase its capacity to 57,000 vehicles per day, to accommodate the growing traffic flow from Al Janabiya Road towards Shaikh Isa bin Salman Road through free-flowing traffic; this is to keep pace with the urban development in the area.

Smart Solutions

In the same context, the ministry stated that it has started implementing a number of smart solutions for traffic congestion, and is conducting further studies to apply more of these initiatives.

In this regard, the ministry mentioned that it is preparing traffic studies for congested streets, particularly within the city, to explore the possibility of converting them to one-way streets.

It is also working on further initiatives through the SCOOT (Split Cycle Optimisation Technique) system, which optimises traffic light coordination in nearby intersections, as well as introducing smart parking meters on most commercial streets.