More than 14m used King Fahad Causeway last year

Manama: More than 14 million people used the King Fahad Causeway linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in 2011.

According to Badr Bin Abullah Al Ataishan, King Fahd Causeway Authority director-general, 14,345,840 people made the crossing on the 25-kilometre terrestrial link between the two kingdoms with a daily average of 39,304 people.

Al Ataishan said that 6,207,938 vehicles used the causeway last year with a daily average of 17,008.

The causeway, the longest bridge in the Arab world, was opened in November 1986 by the late King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz and the late Emir Shaikh Eisa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, and is today one of the busiest traffic areas between Arab countries.

Drivers who use the causeway pay a 2 Bahraini dinar (Dh19.2) or a 20 Saudi riyal (Dh19.5) fee, but no charges are imposed on passengers, regardless of their numbers.

Authorities in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have recently issued statements about increasing the number of lanes for cars, buses and trucks to help deal with traffic congestions, particularly during the weekends and holidays.

Several Saudi Arabia-based Saudi nationals and foreigners who work or study in Bahrain commute daily while a large number of Bahrain-based expatriates and Bahrainis use the causeway daily to go to their work or universities.

The causeway is also used by trucks, mainly from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, heading towards Bahrain to deliver or load products.

Queues of long vehicles are often seen at the entrance or exit of the causeway.

Last month, Manama and Riyadh said they were considering a plan to open a clinic on the King Fahd Causeway that links the two kingdoms.

The clinic, to be set up on the Bahraini side of the artificial island border station used for police and customs checks, will provide basic medical services to passengers in need of treatment.

Under the plan discussed in Manama by Sadiq Al Shihabi, the health minister, and Al Atishan, Bahrain will technically oversee the clinic and the causeway authority will fund the operating costs, including the salaries of medical and paramedical staff and the ambulance crews.

The significance of the clinic is regularly highlighted during peak usage of Bahrain’s only terrestrial link by Bahrainis and Bahrain-based foreigners going or coming back from Umrah and Haj.