Installation of new underground cables has begun in Bahrain as part of a major transportation overhaul that will relieve pressure on the busy Budaiya Highway and surrounding areas.

The Works Ministry is installing the new cables in phases to avoid disrupting traffic, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Once complete, work will start on a project to add an extra lane in both directions to the Budaiya Highway and the Janabiya Highway, with plans to bulldoze all roundabouts on the Budaiya Highway and replace them with traffic lights.

The project, which is being funded from a $10-billion aid package pledged to Bahrain in 2011 by its GCC neighbours, was approved by the Northern Municipal Council in June.

A flyover will also connect the Saar intersection on Budaiya Highway, next to Alosra Supermarket, with the Northern Town - which is coming up off the coast of Duraz.

In addition, a bridge connecting the Northern Town and the King Fahad Causeway will be built, including a rail link.

“There is no timeframe for when actual work on the major transportation overhaul is set to begin, but work has now started to install new cables and remove old ones blocking work on the road,” said former council technical committee chairman Hussain Al Sagheer.

“Work to replace the cables is being done in phases to ensure there are no disruptions, but again we have not yet received an idea on how work will be done when actual work starts to rebuild the roads.

“It is a project that many residents are waiting for, locals and expatriates, considering that it is a densely-populated area, but they don't want to get stuck in traffic more than an hour - currently they wait up to half-an-hour.

“The Works Ministry has to arrange an open meeting with representatives of residents to clarify the situation because the adjacent Al Nakheel Highway is also suffering from bottlenecks with no immediate expansion planned.”

The new $450-million Northern Town will include a government housing development expected to consist of 1,618 low-cost housing units and another 367 mid-range units. Work on the new town started in 2011. - TradeArabia News Service