Majority of Amman’s roads open — municipality

AMMAN — Municipalities across the Kingdom are working on collecting garbage and clearing snow from side streets as the majority of main roads are open, officials said on Saturday.

Abbas Hmeisat, media director at the Municipal Affairs Ministry, said the ministry’s operations room is still receiving comments from citizens and transferring notes to the concerned municipalities.

“The municipalities’ bulldozers and snow- clearing vehicles, as well as rented ones, have been in operation since the snowfall began according to plan,” he told The Jordan Times, adding that the snow-clearing process continued round-the-clock in most areas.

“The icy roads at night caused suspension of work in some areas,” Hmeisat noted. 

The process was fast and relatively easy, he said, because residents abided by instructions to avoid venturing out.

Municipalities in Ajloun and Tafileh had the lion’s share of snow, he added, citing Minister Walid Masri’s field visits to the Jerash, Ajloun, Balqa, Karak and Tafileh governorates.

Official figures on the number of workers and vehicles on duty during the storm were not available yet, but Balqa’s Salt municipality operated 40 vehicles, while some municipalities in Ajloun had around 30 vehicles working during the storm, according to the official.

“Garbage collectors started working Saturday morning,” he said, adding that the ministry’s teams will handle road maintenance “soon”.

Meanwhile, the snow-clearing process in the capital was “excellent”, according to Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) Spokesperson Baker Abbadi.

Some 3,000 snowploughs started working on Friday and cleared all main roads by 6:30pm, he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

“Around 95 per cent of all main roads, main-side roads and back streets are now clear of snow,” he said, adding that work is still under way on the remaining streets.

Abbadi added that GAM teams are working on removing snow piles to allow passage for water, urging citizens not to connect drainage pipes to manholes on the streets as it causes sewage networks to overflow.

He added that the municipality has distributed water pumps to its teams in order to minimise water flow to manholes.  

“We have distributed salt to our teams to spread on slopes and road intersections during the evening, as the Jordan Meteorological Department expects frost formation on Saturday evening,” he said, urging people to abide by instructions not to leave their homes unless for emergencies.

“Movement will be difficult for small and large vehicles during the evening,” Abbadi said, highlighting the cooperation of residents and the participation of private companies in the snow-clearing process.

The official noted that sanitation teams have been working in “full capacity” to collect garbage, and maintenance teams will start fixing damage to roads and sidewalks as of Sunday morning. 

“GAM increased the number of workers on duty round-the-clock during this snowstorm to 4,000, compared to 3,000 workers during January’s storm,” he noted.

The municipality said it received 300 calls on weather emergencies from residents during the snowstorm.

The Public Security Department (PSD) media centre issued a report detailing the conditions of roads across the Kingdom as of noon. 

Main and side roads in the northern  Governorate of Ajloun were still closed due to snow accumulation, while they were partially open in Jerash, according to the PSD.

In Irbid, roads were fully open except for the one linking Irbid and Ajloun, which the PSD said was “cautiously open” for motorists. 

In the southern governorates of Tafileh and Maan, all roads were closed, including those in the Shobak and Petra districts. 

Roads in Zarqa were open, according to the PSD, which said that roads in Balqa were cautiously open for motorists.