Traffic on two of Bahrain's major highways could nearly grind to a halt by 2022 unless the government encourages more people to use public transport, according to a new research.

The report, compiled by Bahrain University College of Engineering graduates Reem Al Tayabi and Nooha Al Zayani, shows the number of vehicles could increase by as much as 40 per cent in some areas.

The 'Assessment of vehicular traffic and urban developments in Manama' study singles out Shaikh Salman Highway and Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway as most at risk of potential gridlock.

'Bahrain is experiencing a steady increase in both population and number of housing units,' says the report.

'The population has increased by 59.7 per cent between 1965 and 2007 and the number of housing units rose by 26.6 per cent from 1965 to 2001.

'In general, overall percentage increases in all sites ranged between 20 and 40 per cent.

The report concentrated on nine key entry points to Manama, including the Budaiya Highway, Tubli Service Road, Shaikh Isa bin Salman Highway, Shaikh Hamad Causeway and Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Causeway.

It took 18 months to compile and data was collected from the Works Ministry, the Central Informatics Organisation, the Interior Ministry and the Municipalities and Agriculture Ministry.

The report's projections were based on the daily traffic levels in Manama between 1980 and 2007 and took into account the impact of the ongoing road development projects such as the Sitra Causeway.

It says efforts must be made to encourage people to shift from using their cars to public transport to avoid congestion.

'Proper urban planning, with special attention to vehicular traffic and a mass transport system, should be considered to minimise probable traffic congestion areas,' said the report.

It won first prize in a recent exhibition of 60 college of engineering projects, which included studies on controlling the speed of trains and how to control the effect of air currents on bridges.

Al Tayabi said she and co-author Al Zayani, both 23, were surprised at the findings of their study.

'Everybody was shocked, even our supervisor, Civil and Architecture Engineering department head Dr Hashim Al Madani,' said the civil engineering graduate.-TradeArabia News Service