Bahrain's Ministry of Works and Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning has started work on expansion of the King Faisal Highway to ensure the smooth flow of traffic and ease congestion.

An additional U-turn lane is being built at the Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH) intersection as part of the ministry's plans to reduce bottlenecks at vital junctions across the kingdom.

As per official statistics, a total of 822 vehicles use the BFH U-turn per hour on average during rush hours - that is a vehicle per 93 seconds approximately, said the ministry in a statement.

Scheduled to be complete within three months, the additional U-turn is expected to bring the rate from 93 seconds to 74 seconds per vehicle and ease the traffic on King Faisal Highway, it stated.

The expansion comes following directives issued by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.

An executive committee, chaired by HRH the Crown Prince, approved 11 projects as part of a short-term plan, said the statement.

Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf pointed out that the ministry had already launched a mega road network strategy which would last 3 to 5 years as part of efforts to upgrade the infrastructure, being a key pillar of Bahrain’s economic and urban development.

The King Faisal Highway will undergo further revamp with the expansion of the Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway to include four lanes on each direction and the development of the intersections to ensure the smooth flow of the traffic, it added.-TradeArabia News Service