MPs demand Salmabad-Isa Town intersection to be shut

Manama : MPs passed an urgent proposal to the Government yesterday to shut the Salmabad-Isa Town intersection on Shiakh Salman Highway during rush hours. If the proposal is granted one of the busiest intersections on the island will be closed during rush hours to ensure smooth traffic flow on the main highway.

MPs Khalid Al Shaer and Jamal Buhassan, who submitted the proposal, said the move is aimed at reducing the “claustrophobic” traffic at the junction. Justifying the urgency of the proposal, Buhassan said, “We have conducted a study which showed that around 400 vehicles pass through the Salmabad-Isa Town exits and entries at the junction in one hour, while more than 10, 000 pass on the highway from the directions of Manama and Riffa.”

 “During rush hours, queues of vehicles are seen lined up for several kilometres, reaching from Isa Town Gate to Adhari Park. These two sides of the intersection should be closed to ease the traffic flow on the highway. Alternatives should be introduced,” Al Shaer said.

 “The situation at the junction is unbearable, especially during rush hours. Drivers on both directions of Shaikh Salman Highway wait for a long time to get through the intersection,” Al Shaer told DT News after the session, explaining more on the details of the proposal. 

“We are requesting the Government to close entries and exits to Salmabad and Isa Town from the intersection for an hour, three times a day, in the morning, in the afternoon simultaneously with the end the school day and once by 5 PM,” Al Shaer told.

 “There are other entries and exits to and from Isa Town and Salmabad that could be used by drivers,” he noted.