52 Years Ago, Bahrain Went from Left to Right What Happened Next Is History! TDT | Manama Drivers on the Big Day
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03 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019 BIG bigSTORY story 52 years ago, Bahrain went from left to right What happened next is history! TDT | Manama drivers on the big day. ing to the General Directorate 23 minutes to cross the 25-kilo- lanes road of the new causeway of Traffic, there were 711,000 metre during peak hours. will also increase the capacity of ifty-two years ago, on 17 How it all started? vehicles registered in the king- But know that when it opened, the existing King Fahd Cause- November 1967, the world The idea was put forward by dom. The numbers show an it was the fourth longest cause- way, and resolve the traffic con- Fsuddenly turned upside His Majesty King Saud bin Ab- annual increase of 10 per cent way in the world, and the long- gestion problems. Milestones down in Bahrain. dulaziz Al Saud during one of from 640,000 vehicles present est outside the United States. Or rather it went from left to his visits to the Kingdom at the in 2018. Freight yard 1954 right. invitation of his brother Sheikh Humongous, isn’t it? Yet another upside down? The freight yard located near On that day, like its neigh - Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa According to King Fahd Now after 33 years, as the King Khalifa Bin Salman Port will His Majesty King Saud bin Abdulaziz Al bours, Bahrainis started driving in 1954. Causeway authorities, the in- Fahd causeway continues to facilitate the transportation of Saud visited Bahrain at the invitation on the right-hand side of the Their highnesses thought crease is so crazy that it has al- serve its purpose policymakers 600,000 containers and 13 mil- of his brother Sheikh Salman bin road for the first time, abandon- such a link would bring more most become humanly impos- are yet again preparing to turn lion tons of bulk freight, which Hamad Al Khalifa and launched the ing the well versed left-hand- prosperity and freedom to the sible to manage the entry point the world upside down. will boost the commercial op- idea of a sea causeway. traffic system. people on both sides of the Gulf control and checking operations. Or rather heralding another erations at the port and make With only less than 18,000 of Bahrain. And there were right. To understand better, let’s shift from roadways to railways. Bahrain a major logistics hub. cars on its roads at that time The rest is history. take a look at some of the cause- Another monumental task! around, the shift went smooth, Though preparatory works way stats. In fact, things have already $3.5 billion project thanks to months of planning, began in 1965, a deal to start the In 1986, only 65,112 vehicles started rolling. While the existing bridge was hard work and long hours of construction was signed only 16 entered the King Fahd Cause- Named King Hamad Cause- built for US $800 million, the duty by the Traffic department. years after on 8 July 1981. way from Bahrain side. That way, the project upon comple- new one, which runs parallel In fact, in the run-up to the From there on, works went on number peaked to 679,152 in tion will have four road lanes to it, is expected to cost around D-day, traffic department had a war footing. 1987, 1,383,445 vehicles in 1999 and two rail tracks running par- $3.5 billion. 1965 to deal with an awful lot of is- On 11 April 1985, Shaikh and 5,892,155 in 2018. allel to the King Fahd Causeway. The contract for the new Formation of a sues starting with repainting Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Reports also show a total of The 75-kilometre railway will causeway’s consultancy work committee to consider road markings to relocating bus the Prime Minister of Bahrain, 118,000 passengers crossed the link the proposed freight yard at has been awarded to a consorti- the implementation stops and traffic lights and rede- pressed the button to install the causeway in both directions on Khalifa Bin Salman Port to the um comprising of AECOM, KPMG of the sea causeway signing intersections, lanes and final part of the box bridges. 18th June 2018, yet another re- existing railway line in Dhahran and CMS, as well as other spe- project. one-way streets. Finally, on 26 November 1986, cord. passing by the proposed King cialist firms for US $8.9 million. An awful lot of work, it was! the causeway was officially in- Figures furhter show that Hamad International station in They will work on the financing 1981 The idea was to remain on the augurated, giving wings to Bah- 2,918,993 people used the Ramli area in Bahrain. as well as the design aspects of Signing of the causeway construction same side of the road as the rest raini dreams. 25-kilometre causeway, a daily the link. agreement. of the regional neighbours. And after long 33 years, the average of more than 94,000 2,170-km GCC railway The Ministry of Transporta- The question, however, is, to 25-kilometre long network of people in August. The previous The line will be eventual- tion and Telecommunications in accomplish what? By doing so, bridges and causeways still crossing record was set in July ly linked to Dammam railway Bahrain, the Ministry of Trans- what Bahrainis would have pos- serves it purpose connecting Al 2018 when 2,821,640 people station to be part of the wid- port in Saudi Arabia and the sibly gained, especially when Jasra, west of Manama and Al travelled over the causeway. er 2,170-km Gulf Cooperation King Fahd Causeway Authority there is zero road link between Aziziyah, south of Al Khobar in As they say, records won’t Council (GCC) railway network. will execute the project jointly. the Kingdom and its GCC neigh- Saudi Arabia. hold long, when it comes to King Officials figures say, the num- According to a feasibility bours. Fahd causeway. ber of passengers using the GCC study, the project, based on a The answer, however, is “a What next? Clearly, the four-lane project, railway is expected to reach public-private partnership mod- LOT and maybe a bit more”. Fast forward to December realised at a cost of US$800 about 8 million passengers per el, will achieve considerable fi- 1982 The wide-ranging transport 2019. Estimates say at least million using 47,000 metric year by 2050. Dammam rail - nancial and economic benefit for Commencement of the implementation changes were to make Bahrainis 25,000 vehicles are crossing tonnes of reinforced steel and way station will be connected both countries once it becomes of the causeway project. ready behind the wheels, for King Fahd Causeway, on any 350,000 m3 of concrete, is now to all domestic railways in Saudi operational. that thrilling moment, for that given day. fighting hard to cope with the Arabia. “The railway movement of ride of a lifetime, a few years To bring that into perspective, tremendous growth in traffic. products has become an urgent after, across the Gulf of Bahrain. know that in 1944, all Bahrain Even though several pro - Metro network necessity, particularly as the re- Yes, you heard it right. had was 395 cars. That increased grammes were executed or are The passenger terminal at gion witnesses fast-developing The shift to the right was Bah- to 3,379 in 1954 and 18,372 cars on their way to raising their effi- King Hamad International sta- rates of commercial activities, rain making a big step for the in 1970. ciency and management, traffic tion in Ramli will be connect- urbanism and demography,” a opening of its new terrestrial As of August 2019, accord - delays is becoming a daily affair. ed to the passenger terminal at report said quoting business link to the region beyond its Despite the re- Bahrain International Airport community in Bahrain. 25, Dec, 1985 borders, where the right-hand cord figures, and other commercial and res- Signing the Construction of the traffic is the norm. vehicles idential areas in the Kingdom Causeway Agreement per which the It paid off well, on 26 Novem- needed an through the proposed Bahrain King Fahd Causeway’s dimensions and ber 1986, after 19 years, when average metro network. coordinates were set. Bahrainis began driving across o f The four the Gulf of Bahrain to neigh- bouring Saudi Arabia. 26, Nov, 1986 The investment in plan- Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz and His ning and logistics helped Highness Sheikh Isa Bin Salman avoid confusion among inaugurate the King Fahd Causeway. (Courtesy of King Fahd Causeway Authority).