The new detours sometimes cause motorists to take more than 30 minutes to cross over major intersections.

Drivers here are complaining that newly created detours on the city’s roads are causing more congestion than ever before.

Most of the problems are caused by those set up by the traffic department on the Haramain Road to allow for the construction of the high-speed railway, they told Arab News recently.

Maj. Gen. Wasalullah Al-Harbi, director of the city’s traffic department, defended the process, saying it had been approved by the department’s engineers and the Ministry of Transport.

Al-Harbi said officers have been deployed at the detours around-the-clock to ensure the traffic flows smoothly. He urged motorists to be patient because these measures have been taken so that the government can complete much-needed development projects.

A motorist, Suleiman Al-Harbi, said the new detour at the intersection of Haramain and King Abdullah roads has caused major congestion. He claimed that he had to wait for more than 30 minutes to cross over recently.

He said the traffic department must find a solution to this crisis. The congestion increases after 9 a.m. when large trucks with heavy equipment are allowed to enter the city, he said.

Abdu Al-Bargi, another driver, said the transport ministry closes a street but then no work takes place there for a long time. An example of this is on King Abdullah Street, where there is a new detour daily, but no work takes place. If there is construction underway, then this takes place slowly, Al-Bargi said.

He said, however, that the projects would benefit the public. “We must collaborate and bear with the contractors until the completion of the work. What is unacceptable is to stop or delay the work, which then inconveniences the public for a long period,” he said.

He said the government must force the contractors to complete the work as quickly as possible, especially on the Haramain Road, which is a major artery for traffic in Jeddah.

Farouq Al-Omari said the Haramain Road detours were not created to ensure the least possible inconvenience. For example, the traffic department has not set up any signals warning drivers of the three detours at the intersections of the Haramain Road with the King Abdulaziz University overpass, and Palestine Street. If they do so, then motorists could take other routes, he said.

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