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PARENTS have made a heartfelt plea to the Works Ministry to start proposed roadworks on one of the kingdom's busiest school run routes during the long summer holidays.
Tempers were frayed and pick up times delayed when sewage improvements caused chaos on Saar Avenue shortly after the new term started last September.
Now major improvements to the busy stretch between Budaiya Highway and Avenue 35 are in the pipeline.
The roads planning design directorate has prepared a study to upgrade the road to a dual carriageway and provide five traffic signal junctions to 'enhance safety and accessibility'.
Samira Khan, a mother-of-three drives the route a minimum of twice daily. "There are certain times in a day when the road is congested with school traffic and I'm sure with time this will get worse as many compounds and supermarkets are located on that road," she said.
"If the Works Ministry has decided to upgrade that stretch then I think that the improvements should happen during school summer holidays. If that does not happen then Saar Avenue will become a nightmare ... but if we need to take the bitter pill for a better end result then so be it."
Dad Tim Saunders often drops his young son to St Christopher's School in the morning. Apart from encountering bad driving, the regular traffic congestion makes matters worse.
He said: "Five traffic signals junctions between Budaiya Highway and Avenue 35 might exacerbate the problem instead of solving it. Do people here abide by signals except the expatriates?
"It is horrendous navigating Saar Avenue during ongoing road works and whatever the solution I hope the authorities will undertake construction work during the long school break when Budaiya Highway, Avenue 35 and the Saar roads are generally less congested."
The project is included under the proposed 2009-10 programme of roads improvement and the detailed design work is still in progress.
A Ministry of Works spokesman said: "The construction of the avenue will based on budget availability, completion of detail design drawings and the approval of all relevant authorities to assure that there is no conflict between the proposed improvement and underground services."
