Amman municipality mulls installing traffic lights on 5th, 8th circles

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is studying the possibility of installing traffic lights on the 5th and 8th circles, a GAM official said Sunday.

“GAM has already started with blueprints, analysis and simulation to determine what is best for these intersections,” Yasser Atiyyat, deputy director of GAM’s public works department, told The Jordan Times in a phone interview.

He noted that if studies prove that traffic lights are a better solution, GAM will start construction work to install them.

Atiyyat expected final studies on the projects to be concluded within 10 days, acknowledging that “traffic lights are not magical solutions that completely solve congestion, but they are meant to alleviate traffic jams.”

He added that GAM will keep the 8th Circle but most likely remove the 5th Circle when installing the traffic lights.

Referring to current traffic congestion at the 8th Circle, the GAM official said it is due to the closure of the Sinaa (industrial) intersection in the capital’s Bayader neighbourhood.

The intersection project, which started in December 2014, is designed to alleviate traffic jams in the area, and will take 485 days to finish.

“GAM calls on motorists coming from King Abdullah II Street [commonly known as Medical City Street] and heading to the 7th Circle area to use the bridge over the 8th Circle, and after 200 metres they can make a u-turn and come back to the circle to reduce congestion on the 8th Circle,” Atiyyat said.

After making the u-turn, motorists can also use backstreets near Safeway to reach the 7th Circle, he added.

The official said GAM is also implementing some improvements on the 3rd Circle to address traffic jams there.

“Construction work on the 3rd Circle includes building a street divider so that cars coming from Zahran Street and heading to Ras Al Ain neighbourhood do not need to enter the circle,” he added.

Atiyyat noted that GAM is also considering changing Jubilee Circle into traffic lights, noting that studies will take around two months after which a definitive decision will be taken.

In April last year, GAM began operating traffic lights at the 7th Circle.

The two-phase traffic control system prohibits cars coming from the 8th Circle to proceed to the 6th Circle and vice versa, or from the airport road towards Abdullah Ghosheh Street and vice versa, except through the tunnels.