Dammam Municipal authorities have closed the bridge on King Fahd Road near Adama District here to undertake work on roads connecting to the newly completed King Fahd Tunnel across Othman Bin Affan Street near Al-Moajil junction. The closure of the bridge has placed tremendous pressure on the already congested roads in the city, and has raised concerns among parents who with the start of the new academic year today have to find a way to drop their children at school and then get to work on time. Motorists complain that due to the closure of this bridge, it takes on average about half an hour to cover a two km distance during peak hours. The opening of the newly constructed SR80 million King Fahd tunnel, scheduled for Oct. 6, was postponed in order to finish the highway roadwork. The tunnel construction project was completed in 34 months. Work on King Fahd Road is in its full swing with contractors working round the clock to finish as soon as possible. Meanwhile, all roads connecting to this highway are also closed for the installation of safety direction boards, signboards and barricades. Apart from this, the repair work on the Dammam – Khobar underpass tunnel near Dammam Sports Stadium which was closed last December is still not completed resulting in long queues of motorists at traffic signals. Once the newly constructed tunnels and flyovers in the city are completed, it will be possible to travel to King Fahd International Airport from Al-Khobar without encountering a single traffic signal.
