Municipality to install new BRT lanes in Amman early July

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) will start working on the third stage of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in early July, adding new routes to the network, an official said on Sunday. 

“GAM has approved the referral of the implementation tender of this phase to a local company and is awaiting the Cabinet’s approval,” said Ayman Smadi, the executive director of transport and traffic department at the GAM. 

The third stage will cost JD3.761 million, Smadi told The Jordan Times, adding that it is expected to take around seven months to complete.  

A new 16km route will connect Sweileh intersection with the Sports City Circle and Al Mahatta Bus Station, Smadi said, and a 600-metre bridge will be built to connect Queen Rania Street with Yajuz Street to reduce traffic at Al Dawriyat Al Kharijiyah (the highway patrols intersection).

A route stretching over 800 metres will be installed for the BRT from Al Dawriyat Al Kharijiyah to Sweileh Circle, he added.

He noted that around 80 per cent of the second stage of the project has been completed. 

The multimillion-dinar project, which the GAM embarked on in 2009, before it was halted in 2011, entails operating premium high-capacity buses that can carry more than 120 passengers and will run every three minutes during peak hours on segregated lanes along Amman’s busiest roads.

In 2013, the government decided to resume the project, as part of a plan to provide transport solutions and ease traffic congestion in the capital.