Amman: Amman's new landmark is barely one month old, but citizens are still flocking to the Abdoun Suspension Bridge in droves, despite many having mixed feelings about the recently inaugurated attraction.
The first cable-stayed bridge in Jordan connects Abdoun Circle Tunnel and Jabal Amman's Fourth Circle Intersection. Most suspension bridges are built in a straight line, whereas the new bridge meanders with a complex "S" curve horizontal alignment. The seismically designed, dual two-lane bridge is the first of its kind in the world.
The 425m long bridge has dual two-lane carriageways, each 7.28m wide, and is supported on three towering pylons rising to a maximum height of 71 metres from the bottom of the valley bed.
The bridge, which extends over Wadi Abdoun, was constructed with the objective of easing the increasing flow of traffic within the city. According to a Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) official, the new bridge will shorten driving distances within the capital by 75 per cent.
Director of information for the GAM Taha Abu Ridden believes the new bridge has solved many problems facing the capital.
"There are no traffic jams in Abdoun or the Fourth Circle any more," he told The Jordan Times.
"The new bridge solves the southern Amman traffic problem and connects the two mountains in Amman," he added.
There are currently 710,000 vehicles in the country, according to official records, with and approximate ratio of one vehicle for every eight people. Close to 120,000 vehicles are expected to use the bridge daily, clearly shortening the commute of many residents living in and around Abdoun and Jabal Amman.
Nail Luswate, a 26-year-old commuter who uses the bridge everyday to get to work from Moqabaleen in south Amman to Jabal Amman, said his commute to work has been shortened dramatically.
"From the door of my house, to the front steps of work, it now takes me 12 minutes. I used to travel through Ras Al Ain, and it could take anywhere from 35-40 minutes," said Luswate, who works as an information technology specialist at Jordan Telecom.
While many Amman residents, such as Luswate, claim that "the bridge is the best thing to happen to Jordan in years," many citizens disapprove with the construction of the new bridge.
"It's all for nothing," said Yaseen Mohammad Yaseen. "It cost a lot of money, and they could have done so much more with all that money." Yaseen, who is originally from Zarqa and works on preparing documents next to the Iraqi embassy in Jabal Amman, claims that the bridge was built just to improve the image of Amman.
"The bridge is only for looks," the 25 year-old told The Jordan Times. "They built it so they have something nice to look at."
The new bridge, constructed at a cost of JD12 million, has been attracting people from around Jordan who come and take pictures, creating a danger for motorists and pedestrians.
According to Abu Ridden, the bridge was built only for motorists and no pedestrian walkway was put in place.
"We are working on putting blocks up to prevent people from using the bridge to walk across," Abu Ridden said.
Although the new bridge is attracting a lot of attention, Abu Ridden said the bridge's novelty would eventually fade.
"It's a new bridge. I believe the problem will solve itself. People now are coming to see the bridge, but the attraction will fade as people become more accustomed to it," the GAM official said.
Taxi drivers are happy with the bridge because it makes their work much easier.
Some argue, however, that it also exposes a well-known division in the capital between east and west Amman.
Issam Mohammad, a cab driver, has mixed feelings about the bridge although it makes his work easier.
"The government only builds new streets in Amman where all the rich people live, they build in places like Abdoun and west Amman," he charged.
By Cheryl Haines and Ramsey G. Tesdell
© Jordan Times 2007
