Motorists, engineers frustrated by accident-prone road

Yomna Kamel Middle East Times staff

With wide, well-marked lanes the newest section of the 26th of July extension, connecting Mohandiseen with the Alexandria desert road, would seem an unlikely location for car accidents.

However, since its opening on October 15, numerous wrecks have occurred on the stretch turning it into a microcosm of the nation-wide traffic accident blight and has motorists and companies trading blame over who is at fault.

"Without warning people, they [construction companies] closed parts of the road forcing drivers coming from opposite directions to use one lane," said Muhammad Salah who uses the new road daily to get to and from work.

Salah blames the companies overseeing construction for the injuries he sustained and the damage done to his car.

"I was driving towards the Alexandria Road when a car coming from the opposite direction appeared in front of me," he said. "It was totally unexpected and I had a head-on collision."

Workers for the companies allowed him to enter the road despite telling him it was not officially opened at the time.

The Arab Contractors, one of three companies (the two other companies being Hassan Allam and Mukhtar Ibrahim contractors) carrying out the project say that they are not at fault.

According to Ikram Fouad, an engineer with Arab Contractors and director of the E£540 million project, motorists speeding in areas undergoing construction are at fault, for not obeying signs posted in the areas.

"While the maximum speed on the July 26 extension, is 90 kilometers per hour, we see cars flying," he said. "They deal with it as a highway, especially drivers coming off the road from Alexandria who continue at the same speed."

Salah said that not only are cars hitting each other but many hit the equipment and signs marked warning them of construction zones.

"Most of the accidents we see on the road are committed by trucks," he said. "They speed and when met by road works, fail to stop their vehicles."

For Salah, the solution to this chaotic situation is to bring in law enforcement.

"We are suffering from these reckless drivers and demand the Giza traffic authorities to install radar on the road to control speed," Foaud added.

The Giza Traffic Department could not be reached for comment on the matter.

But part of the problem may be more than motorist irresponsibility and poor law enforcement. Fouad says that pressures to open the road before all construction was finished may be the cause of some of the chaos.

"The road should have been closed until everything was finished," he said. "With traffic pressure, however, we have to leave it open while closing only the parts we are working on."

The company admitted to closing parts of the road to install extension joints that protect asphalt from cracking but said this actually a normal situation.

"Throughout the world minor works like installing extension joints are usually carried out while the public is using the road," he said.

Another complaint has been that pedestrians may be causing some accidents.

People, sometimes with donkeys, have been crossing the road in the Mit Oqba neighborhood causing motorists to swerve in order not to hit them. This situation is currently being remedied with the erection of two pedestrian bridges in the problem areas.

Started in November 1997, the 26th of July extension is nearly complete.

The final stage of the project will include constructing a two kilometer bridge connecting the 6th of October bridge to the 15th of May bridge. This aims at easing traffic flow for drivers coming from Nasr City and Heliopolis heading to Alexandria.

The expected cost of this phase will be around E£80 million said Fouad.