The Ministry of Planning announced on Thursday, presenting a road map on the reality of services provided in the field of cladding, construction and implementation of roads and bridges and their rehabilitation, throughout Iraq. It included a package of important measures and recommendations that will contribute to lessen traffic jams, and improve the level of services provided in this aspect.
A statement from the ministry stated, a committee chaired by the Director General of Regional and Local Development at the Ministry of Planning, Dr. Muhammad Mohsen Al-Sayed, and the membership of the Director General of Roads and Bridges, representatives of the Municipality of Baghdad and the Supreme Commission for Coordination between the Provinces, and the General Traffic Directorate. It studied the follow-up report on the status of services in the field of roads and bridges prepared by the Federal Integrity Commission.
The statement indicated that the package of procedures and recommendations included the recommendation to establish a special fund for the maintenance of roads and bridges in the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Municipalities, It is funded from the cut-off percentages of fees levied in favor of road works, which include revenues from gas stations, weighing stations, and beneficiaries’ fees, In addition to government support.
The procedures stressed raising the level of coordination between the governorates and the Ministry of Transport for the purpose of selecting appropriate sites for the establishment of commercial exchange arenas, in order to prevent trucks from entering city centers for the purpose of reducing damage to the road infrastructure resulting from the passage of trucks with large loads.
The Ministry of Planning recommended that priority be given to the implementation of the fourth circular road around the city of Baghdad, which will contribute to diverting trucks outside the center of the capital, in addition to speeding up the activation and operation of the weighing stations, and that the management of these stations be linked to the Roads and Bridges Department, in coordination with the General Traffic Directorate. The Roads Protection Directorate is in charge of protecting these stations and preserving road prohibitions, while the heads of the administrative units remove the trespasses on the roads, without the need for lawsuits, according to the Roads and Bridges Act.
The Ministry of Planning stressed the need to stop the import of cars and small wheels that are not subject to the conditions of durability and safety, and for the General Traffic Directorate to drop vehicles with unacceptable traffic specifications annually.