Saudi Gazette report BAHRA — Bahra residents had welcomed the high speed Haramain train project that will connect their city to Jeddah and Makkah. Considered as a major step toward development of their city, the project had been applauded when it was announced but now residents say the train line has effectively divided their city in half with access to either side limited. Many of the residents interviewed in this report said the project has done more harm than good. Local resident Awadh Al-Hazmi said the project was very important but he was surprised why 23 important roads that lead to Bahra and connect people within the city had been closed down. "The project has divided the city into east and west Bahra. People are affected when they are trying to get to their homes and businesses or visiting relatives. It affected the economy of the town." Echoing Al-Hazmi's words, Saleh Al-Majnouni, another resident, said, "I am surprised why the project engineers did not take into consideration the residents when closing down many roads and dividing the city into two. The sand barriers are doing more damage than good. We have to travel long distances to find a way to go to the other side and reach our homes,” he said. Ayed Al-Manaa asked why engineers did not build bridges and other roads to ease the huge traffic created by the project. "This is a security concern. God forbid if there is a fire or police need to respond to a crime, how can rescue workers reach the location in a time? Civil Defense and police need to travel long distances to cross to the other side. The project is good and will serve the general public but designers did not take into consideration the needs of residents." Ateeq Al-Mijhish, another resident, said, "Closing down major roads diverted traffic to two roads. Bahra is going to face a major disaster if it rains because the sand barriers from the project will direct rainwater toward homes. The sand barriers are 12 meters high and seven meters wide. There is only one bridge people to reach the government department compounds. What we want from the Ministry of Transport is to remove these sand barriers and build bridges and think of residents first before they build any project.” A source at the ministry said the project will continue as planned but parallel roads and four bridges that connect the city's eastern and western sides will be constructed.
