WORKS MINISTRY DETECTS TRAFFIC IN six new counting sites

FAKHRO: ‘A NEW TRAFFIC SCHEME IN PLACE TO KEEP PACE WITH THE EXPANDED TRAFFIC IN BAHRAIN’

The Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs & Urban Planning continues the tradition of collecting yearly traffic data for the Kingdom. The data for all the 100 stations is collected up to the end of subject year. Further the compilation, analysis and reporting takes place in the beginning of the following year. In quest for more information, the Ministry has added six new counting sites, two each in Manama and Seef and one each in Saar and Tubli.

According to the Roads Assistant Undersecretary Eng. Huda Fakhro, things are getting more challenging for the professionals at the Ministry as the traffic grows and so does the congestion in the Kingdom, Therefore, the Ministry’s multidisciplinary team is working diligently to plan and implement a better road network system for Bahrain.

‘The Ministry’s vision is to enhance the existing road system and to build the future transportation road network. These efforts are needed because the commuters in Kingdom are growing at a rapid pace,’ said Fakhro.

She also added that in 2014 approximately 6,500 more vehicles travelled between Manama and Muharraq, a growth of 2.6% (i.e. difference between 250,000 Average Daily Traffic ADT and 243,500 ADT, year 2014 and 2013 year data, respectively). The split of total 250,000 is 115,000 vehicles inbound while 135,000 outbound from Muharraq. Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Causeway (70,397 ADT to 82,986 ADT) grew around 17%, the highest most likely due to direct access to the expanding south Muharraq area.

‘Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Highway continues to be the most travelled roadway in the Kingdom, with 175,500 ADT at segment between King Faisal Interchange (Sheraton Hotel) & Palace Avenue. The second busiest roadway in the Kingdom continue to be Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Highway with about 158,500 ADT near south Manama, segment between Bahrain Map Junction and Mina Salman Junction. As expected most of the heavy volume roadways exist in and around Manama,’ she added.

The data collected from these sites is the backbone for most of the traffic planning studies the Ministry does. Consequently, the Roads Affairs have several other large road improvement schemes that are currently in implementation stages.