Page 296 - Bahrain Gov annual reports(V)_Neat

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New Roads and Bridges. Work on widening and improving the Jufnir Road was continued,
the section as far as the Broadcasting Station being completed and the formation prepared of
the double carriage way section running southwards to the new Port. At the same time various
branch roads joining this main road were made up, including Dilmun Road, and the Roads to
the Broadcasting Station and to the Gymkhana Club area. Outside the town, the road to Tubli
was embanked throughout its length and a start made on a new asphalt road to Aali. In
addition, on country roads, a large number of permanent bridges were built in place of old palm
log bridges that had become unserviceable.

Other New Construction. Work on the 3,000 ft. causeway approach to the new Deep
Water Pier at Jufair was continued and by the end of the year all the 23 culverts had been
completed and all but 800 feet of the rock fill and retaining walls. Dredging of the bar and of
the approach channel made good progress and is the subject of a separate report.

Drainage Works claimed urgent attention due to the steady rise in water table level in
Manama which was resulting in perpetual flooding of certain areas of the town. A deep ‘cut
and cover’ drain was driven through the rock from the shore on the cast side of the Town past
the B.O.A.C. Offices (the centre of a badly flooding area) and along Shaikh Isa Road to the
Political Agency. The effect of this drain was shown on December 12th when a rainfall of
over 2in. was carried ofT without any noticeable flooding. This drain will be continued west­
wards as far as the Technical School. At Jufair another large deep drain was constructed to
preclude any possibility of flooding in the low lying Power Station area, where serious trouble
had threatened during the previous rainy season.

Other works under this general heading included a sea retaining wall at Hoora 1,100 ft.
long, as part of a reclamation scheme using town refuse, and a similar wall at Muharraq in
front of the market area. In addition an area of reclaimed land at Muharraq of 41,000 square
feet was enclosed with a boundary wall and ornamental gates for development into a public
park.

Maintenance. Maintenance of Government and leased buildings was carried out accord­
ing to a regular schedule and the programme of re-roofing some of the older buildings con­
tinued. Little trouble was experienced with P.W.D. constructed buildings but the upkeep of
leased buildings was a constant headache due to the relatively low standard construction of
their roofs and load bearing walls. The Manama Infants School, a leased building, was kept
open only with difficulty and it has been decided to replace it with a new school on the side of
the old Baladiya garden.

The problem of keeping pace with road repairs due to the very great increase in traffic and
to the ageing of road surfaces was acute. Road surfaces which were adequate when laid down
five years ago, are now too light for the weight and density of traffic imposed upon them and
it is clear that certain of these main road surfaces will have to be strengthened considerably
if they arc to stand up to present conditions. Apart from local repairs the following roads were
resprayed during the year:—
Awali Road (Manama to Kawari Bridge)
Zinj Road (Manama to Suq A1 Khamis)
New Palace Roads.

The Shaikh Hamad Swing Bridge was surveyed in detail in connection with the scheme
for strengthening and partial rebuilding which was under preparation by the Consulting
Engineers and planned for execution in 1956. Apart from the replacement of a small section of
reinforced concrete decking no undue difficulty was experienced in keeping the bridge open
to traffic but restrictions on loading and speed had to be strictly enforced.