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Clio/)for Eight

                  to Diqdaqah. Work started in 1967 and the road was finished in 1969.
                     The Development Office built the four kilometres of road from
                  Sharjah to Khan. But the important link from Sharjah to Daid, which
                  was to form part of the transpeninsular road, was built at the
                  expense of Abu Dhabi. After a study had been prepared by Sir
                  William Halcrow and Partners in 1967 on the feasibility of such a
                  road across the mountains, the Development Office initiated the first
                  stage of this project.132 Work commenced in 1967 on improving the
                  very rough track through the mountains. The Royal Engineers
                  stationed in Sharjah assisted with blasting rock off the steepest hills
                  along the track and opening up three mountain passes on the coastal
                  stretch between Khaur Fakkan and Dibah, which was until mid-1968
                  only passable on fool or donkey. The tracks, culverts and gradients
                  were constructed in some places with a view to asphalting in the
                  future, whereas much of the track followed the easier and cheaper
                  routes through the wadi beds. The Development Office had ceased to
                  function when this latter project was completed by the federal
                  Ministry of Public Works. Much of the track through the Wadi Ham
                  was redesigned to take it above the wcidi bed, because funds were
                  then available to build the necessary high bridges.
                    The proposal to build a road to link Ra’s al Khaimah, Manamah and
                  Daid with the al 'Ain and Buraimi area, a distance of about 175
                  kilometres was studied by the Development Office. This road was
                  considered to be of high priority, not only to link these similar tribal
                  areas but also because it passed through the main existing agricul­
                  tural areas and a considerable amount of potential agricultural land.
                  In a report on roads prepared by the Development Office in
                  September 1970 this project was described: “By its careful siting to
                  the east of agricultural lands (present and future) and by its being
                  structurally designed in the form of a flood barrier, the following
                  additional results are expected: (a) the protection from floods of
                  existing areas such as Dhaid, Mileiha and Hamraniyah as well as
                  sizeable other areas not yet developed (b) by retaining waters to the
                  east of the road barrier and having it diffused over the gravel plain to
                  percolate into the subsoil, the progressive improvement of the    I
                  quantity and quality of all groundwaters westward to the sea (c) in
                  the necessary maintenance works of removing silt washed down at
                  flood times, to keep the gravel plain surface open to percolation, the
                  winning of top dressing soils for garden areas.  ”133
                    The Development Office did not start on this project; like many
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