awaited reopening of the Dammam-Khobar Highway tunnel located infront of the Dammam Stadium, the closure of which has been causing agonizing daily traffic jams to all motorists plying the Dammam-Khobar route for almost a year now, has been postponed again toward the end of this year. Dammam Deputy Mayor Jamal Al-Mulheim said the cause of delay in the opening of the tunnel, the main entry point to the city of Dammam and connecting to Al-Khobar and Dhahran, were due to several unavoidable factors associated with procedural matters and use of appropriate materials needed to repair the tunnel. “However, we are definitely going to open the tunnel before the end of this year,” Deputy Mayor Al-Mulheim said. It was earlier announced that the tunnel will be opened to traffic by the end of last month. The tunnel was closed to traffic last Dec. 25 to undergo major repairs, such as the sealing of water leakages coming from underground and the side walls of the tunnel, fixing of the falling ceramic tiles, and changing the lighting facilities that no longer work. The tunnel, which took about two years to complete, is the main artery that connects the cities of Dammam and Al-Khobar and the adjoining districts. Since its closure motorists going to Dammam have to take series of detours before reaching their destination in the city and the adjoining districts. The main road at the end of the tunnel toward the Ibn Khaldoun District was scrapped last week and is now being leveled. The two lanes stretch to another new tunnel fronting the MMG Group of Companies, which has been under construction for almost two years now. This delay in the construction of this tunnel is also the subject of complaints by motorists.
