Sharjah: The much-needed pedestrian bridges are slowly taking shape in several parts of Sharjah.
Last year, the Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority announced construction of five pedestrian bridges, including two on Ittihad Road and one each on King Abdul Aziz Road, King Faisal Street and Al Taawun Street.
The bridges have been long-awaited as the locations where they are planned have had high numbers of pedestrian deaths with people risking their lives due to a lack of options to cross safely.
Sharjah Police reported 24 run-over deaths in the first six months of this year compared to 22 in the same period last year, which calls for a greater urgency to install the bridges sooner.
The most-awaited among the five bridges is the one near Ansar Mall that connects Sharjah’s Al Nahda area with Al Mamzar across Ittihad Road, the main highway connecting Dubai with Sharjah. The location, along with the Ittihad Road segment near Safeer Mall, has seen several pedestrian deaths over the years.
In February 2016, the Sharjah Urban Planning Council (SUPC), after approving the designs of the bridges, had announced that work on the bridges will begin soon.
Gulf News visited the spots to note that the work began in earnest last year at two of the locations but the progress has been slow, frustrating the pedestrians who are left with no choice to cross the road, particularly near Ansar Mall and Safeer Mall on Ittihad Road.
Scheduled to be ready late last year, with the current pace of work, residents fear the bridges may not be ready even this year.
“We were so excited when the bridges were announced and the work started, but the progress has been so slow, it is really frustrating. Once ready, bridges will make crossing the road safer and hassle-free. Right now, we need to take a long drive to get on the other side of the road even for a small errand, which on foot should actually take less than five minutes,” said Shamshad Begum, a resident of Sharjah’s Al Mamzar area, located right across Ansar Mall.
As at Ansar Mall, steel pillars can also be seen standing on either sides of King Faisal Road near HSBC, one of the five locations of the proposed footbridges. However, work that began last year is still less than half done and is progressing only intermittently.
“It doesn’t take a year to build a small footbridge. I don’t understand what is taking so long. They work one day, they do not the next day. We just hope it gets done quickly and our life becomes easier,” said Mohammad Yasir, a resident of Al Majaz area, which the bridge connects with Abu Shagara.
Apart from these two locations, work on the other three bridges is yet to start, with Al Taawun area being urgently in need of one.
Last year, a top SRTA official told Gulf News that pedestrian crossings in Al Taawun area will be ready by the end of 2016.
Construction of a footbridge near Ansar Mall has been awaited since 2013, when it was first announced. Two other bridges were also announced in March 2013 by the Department of Public Works in Sharjah, and two more crossings were added last year, of which only two have seen some progress.
The bridges are expected to be equipped with elevators and shaded walkways to ensure accessibility for elders and people with special needs as well.
The officials concerned at SRTA weren’t immediately available for comments.
