Tenders for BRT overpasses, passenger station to be floated this week

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is scheduled to float two tenders this week for the construction of overpasses above the Sports City Circle and a passenger station in Sweileh under the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, a municipal official said on Sunday.

The phases are estimated to cost JD25 million, the official said, underlining that the municipality will announce further details on the two tenders during the week.

Under the BRT project, two overpasses will be established above the Sports City Circle, which currently features a two-way bridge and a tunnel, according to the official, who underscored that the overpasses will be constructed while maintaining the existing circle, tunnel and bridge.

The first overpass will be dedicated to the traffic coming from Queen Rania Street towards the Martyr’s Memorial, while the second overpass will be built for traffic coming from Jamal Abdul Nasser Square (Interior Circle) towards Shmeisani.

“The stage of work on the Sports City Circle is one of the main pillars of the BRT project…, the intersection above the circle will link the project’s two phases, including Sweileh station and the phase that starts at the Sports City Circle and ends at Ras Al Ain,” the official told The Jordan Times.

The Sweileh passenger station is designed to be built on 20,000 square metres and to incubate six floors, two of which will be below-ground level, according to a statement from GAM, which also indicated that the station will be a “feeder service station” for the BRT.      

GAM is currently constructing an overpass at the Sahafeh tunnel on Queen Rania Street that will be for dedicated use of the BRT, GAM officials said in previous remarks, indicating that two stations will also be established under this phase.

The municipality said it expected all of the BRT project’s tenders to be floated by the end of the first quarter of next year.

The BRT project is part of the municipality’s solution to ease traffic congestion, according to GAM, which is also exploring the idea of an underground railway system.

The BRT project will have a capacity of 120 passengers per bus, serving almost 25km of Amman’s streets, according to GAM officials, who said the transport system should benefit Amman’s residents for at least the next 20 years.

Construction of the project started in 2010, but was halted and delayed several times due to technical reasons.

The project is scheduled to be operational by 2019 at the latest, according to GAM.