There have been huge traffic jams in several cities of the Eastern Province over the past few days, especially at night time, with thousands of people turning out for Eid Al-Fitr shopping. Long queues of vehicles could be seen moving bumper-to-bumper on the busy streets. The ladies' markets in Dammam, Al-Khobar and Al-Hassa were bustling with customers, adding to the traffic chaos across the city. With people appearing to be on an Eid shopping spree, the situation is expected to worsen over the next few days. As families headed out for last-minute shopping, traffic was at a virtual standstill on the main road area that leads to Rashid Mall, Mall of Dhahran, Shathi Mall, Shira Mall and Marina Mall. Some malls failed to accommodate the huge numbers of vehicles, so many shoppers parked their vehicles on the sides of the roads, causing greater disturbance to the traffic flow. Dammam's downtown area, Qatif's main streets, Al-Khobar's shopping streets, the Corniche areas, and the roads leading to the EP's popular hypermarkets also witnessed huge traffic jams on Saturday night. The traffic rush, which started around 8.30 P.M., choked major roads for more than two hours. All the main street roads in the vicinity of mosques were also crowded, as worshippers turned out in large numbers to perform the late night Ramadan prayers. With shoppers expected to come out in full force over the next two days, there will be greater pressure on the roads. The traffic chaos on the major roads was also caused by repair work being carried out. There are several roads that have been diverted, resulting in a nightmare for commuters. Traffic officers were seen trying hard to ease the congestion by operating traffic lights manually. “I was held up in the traffic for a long time yesterday. It took me one hour to travel the distance I normally cover in 15 minutes in Dammam city,” said Aboothalhath, a resident of the Mazrouea area.
