Broken pipe causes havoc on busy road

Sharjah: A broken water pipeline brought traffic on Wasit Road to a complete standstill on Tuesday.

Motorists who were on their way to work had to endure traffic congestion that lasted the entire morning as Al Zayed Road was closed for maintenance due to a water pipe that broke on Monday evening.

Wasit Road is a busy route as it connects Ajman with Sharjah, and extends to Emirates and Al Dhaid Roads, which are equally busy.

"The pipeline was broken after a heavy vehicle was driven on the road, which caused the water to leak and eventually spill out," said Waleed Al Hajj, engineer from the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa).

Sewa confirmed that the water leakage occurred in a pipe that was 60 centimetres in diameter, located between Al Sahaba Mosque and Shaikh Saud Mosque in the Al Abar neighbourhood. Al Hajj pointed out that the pipeline's water flow was immediately shut down to avoid any further damage to the roads.

"A group of technicians worked round-the-clock to fix the problem and the pipeline has already been repaired," he said. Anjad patrols from Sharjah Police were dispatched to divert oncoming traffic and Sharjah Municipality sent a clean-up team to remove the sand that was previously used to block the water spillage.

Motorists however were confused as to which route to take as there were no proper signs indicating where to go.

Vehicles choked the internal sandy roads within the residential area as people tried to avoid the congestion piling up on Al Wasit Road. Traffic was eventually brought to a standstill as vehicles were crossing over pavements, creating additional problems for commuters.

"There should have been more police monitoring the traffic because people were driving over pavements," said Aseef S., a motorist.