A FAMOUS monument in the heart of a historic Bahraini village is set to be relocated in the next few days, to step up road development work in the area.
The 14-metre-high A’ali Pottery Monument – representing the traditional handicraft of the village for around 4,000 years – was set up at the roundabout near Ramli Mall on Shaikh Zayed Highway in 2007 at a cost of BD200,000.
The highway, which runs between Shaikh Salman Highway and Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Highway, is being expanded and all roundabouts will be replaced with traffic signals.
The work also includes an expansion of the connecting Road 12 which links Shaikh Zayed Highway to Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Highway.
Both roads will be expanded to include three lanes in each direction, while the project also includes development of December 16 Highway.
The BD23.4 million development is being paid for by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development as part of a $10 billion bailout package pledged to Bahrain by its GCC allies.
An agreement for the first phase of the work was signed by the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, with the second phase under review.
The UAE funded the original highway which was named after former UAE President the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Ministry Public Works Under-Secretary Ahmed Al Khayat said a suggestion by area councillor Hussain Al A’ali – to relocate the monument on a vacant triangular plot of land at the village’s main entrance from Khalifa Bin Salman Highway going towards Manama – has been approved.
“We originally planned to relocate the monument on the roundabout near Naim Grills, just a few metres from the current location, but we have taken the councillor’s suggestion on board.”
The ministry is also considering a proposal to have entry and exit points between Khalifa Bin Salman Highway and A’ali, before the A’ali-Buri underpass.
“We’re working with the Urban Planning and Development Authority to build an exit point for residents around Ramli Mall,” said the ministry’s roads, planning and design director Kadhim Abdul Latif.
Ministry roads and projects director Sayed Bader Alawi said traffic flow on the highway was expected to be eased following the road development work.
“Now with the monument’s issue being resolved, we can start the process of moving it out of the way in the coming days and focus on speeding up road work,” he said.
“Once the first phase of the expansion is finished, the highway’s capacity will increase by 50 per cent – from 4,000 to 6,000 in both directions at peak hours, with the waiting time being 240 seconds.
“The highway’s total daily capacity will increase from 50,000 to 80,000 vehicles following the revamp.”
Mr Al A’ali said the road expansion work was moving faster than expected which is why the monument had to be relocated as quickly as possible.
Phase
“Everyone thought the first phase would be ready by 2022 but from the progress of work it is expected to be ready much ahead of time and for that the roundabout has to be cleared.”
In addition to road expansions and replacing roundabouts with traffic signals, the project will also include the installation of lampposts, safety barriers, traffic signs, landscaping, new rainwater drainage, sanitation networks and resurfacing.
It is expected to reduce delays on the highway by 60pc.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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