Seven more pedestrian bridges will be constructed in areas which witness heavy traffic and pedestrian movements in the emirate of Ajman.

The Ajman government’s decision comes in the wake of the rise in the number of pedestrian fatalities in accidents in Ajman.

Mohamed Ahmed Al Awadi, director of the Infrastructure Department in the Ajman Municipality and Planning Directorate (AMPD), said Dh15 million will be spent on the construction of seven pedestrian bridges and that work on the first bridge will begin early next year.

Al Awadi explained, “New bridges will be constructed on various roads, including two on Shaikh Rashid bin Humaid road, three on Shaikh Maktoum Road and two on Shaikh Khalifa Road. A few months ago, we had constructed a pedestrian bridge on Shaikh Khalifa Road. This means Shaikh Khalifa Road will now have three bridges to ensure the safety of pedestrians.”

“Priority will be given to construction of two bridges on Shaikh Khalifa Road, which is one of the main roads that witnesses heavy traffic movement and many (people) are run over in accidents. We will construct the pedestrian bridge to ensure safe crossing from one side to the other,” he said.

When asked about the other road projects that will be executed by the AMPD during 2010, he said that the New Year will witness better traffic movement on inner roads of Ajman as improvement work is going on.

“We have completed 80 to 98 per cent of various planned projects and that work is expected to be completed within the first few months of the coming year.

Work on the two new bridges on Shaikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Road (Al Hamedeya) will be completed at the end of April 2010.”

Al Awadi added: “Expansion work will be conducted on the road separating Ajman University from its affiliated students accommodation in the Al Jarf area. Two new road lanes will be constructed to facilitate smooth movement of students.”

Colonel Sultan bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Deputy Director of Ajman Police, said the recently constructed pedestrian bridges in Ajman contributed to reduction in the number of run-over accidents.

Twenty five people, including 16 pedestrians died and 506 were injured in road accidents in Ajman during the last 11 months, according to police.

“In 2008, 51 people died, including 32 pedestrians, in accidents while 595 people were injured. Overall, we are witnessing a decrease in the number of road accidents compared to last year.”

We accept Guest Posts