Khaberni - Today, Minister of Public Works and Housing, Maher Abul Samen, inspected the progress of the projects addressing flood damage and enhancing the protection of facilities on the Dead Sea road, emphasizing the importance of these projects in enhancing the road’s readiness for harsh weather conditions and ensuring its sustainability.
The Minister visited the Zara Ma'een Bridge site and observed the completion rates achieved in several vital bridges, showing notable progress at the Zara Ma'een Bridge (Bridge No. 4), where the installation of metal containers of 12 and 6 meters in length has been fully completed, in addition to the completion of watercourse diversion to protect the bridge slab. The backfilling work reached about 90 percent and the cutting works 93 percent.
The concerned officials in the ministry presented an overview of the progress in maintenance and protection projects. At Bridge No. 5, debris from floods has been completely removed, and the entrances and insides of the box culverts have been cleaned, achieving full completion. This enhances water drainage efficiency and reduces the risks of landslides.
At the Mujib Bridge (Bridge No. 7), which was proactively worked on before the entry of the recent weather depressions through the complete cleaning of the calming basins, rubble and concrete works continue, having achieved 60 percent completion, as part of a comprehensive plan to strengthen the structural integrity of the bridge.
At Wadi Shaqiq Bridge (Bridge No. 8), vital works were completed including the cleaning of the valley stream, its diversion, and the complete removal of debris under the bridge, alongside the completion of gabion works and the treatment of concrete slabs for the stream and bridge outlet, enhancing its capacity to handle high water flows.
The quantities of cutting work at Zara Ma'een Bridge reached about 150,000 cubic meters, and filling 300,000 cubic meters, while Shaqiq Bridge recorded 65 cubic meters of cutting and 36 cubic meters of filling, in addition to 23,000 cubic meters of cutting works at Mujib Bridge.
Abul Samen pointed out that these projects are part of the ministry's strategy to improve the efficiency of the road network in areas most affected by floods, enhance traffic safety, and ensure continuity of movement on the Wadi Araba road, especially during the winter season, which positively reflects on transportation and development in the southern Jordan Valley.
