Heliopolis Roads
Sisi directs the completion of Heliopolis roads.
President Abdelfatah El-Sisi has ordered the quick completion of the current Heliopolis road projects in order to ease up on the traffic in the area for the residents, and to complete the overall Cairo traffic plan.
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| El-Sisi inspecting the construction sites |
The president issued the order on Friday, after visiting and inspecting the construction sites and the roads. The bigger plan is to connect the roads to the new capital and the rest of Cairo together.
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| El-Sisi admiring his work |
The Decision:
The president met with senior officials and urban planners in late 2019. In those meetings he issued the need to finish the transformation plans of Heliopolis that will eventually lead up to the new capital.
El Sisi directed the Armed Forces Engineering Authority to finalize the development of road axes and bridges in Cairo's Heliopolis district in accordance with the planned timetable.
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| Sisi directs the developments |
They also discussed development work along the Cairo-Suez road, as well as the speed of work in construction projects at the New Administrative Capital
On May 15, 2019, President Abdel Fatah El Sisi attended the opening of Tahya Misr Bridge, which links areas in northern and eastern Cairo with west Cairo. The Egyptian government said that the bridge, which aims to ease traffic and reduce commuting time, is the widest over a waterway.
The Impact:
Heliopolis residents were taken unawares because they woke up one morning some three months ago to an attack by an army of crushers breaking down roads and consequently disrupting traffic or blocking it altogether on some roads, closing U-turns and stalling traffic lights on main intersections.
Any familiar road or sign is now a part of history. if you venture upon Heliopolis and try to complete a simple task, you're in for a ride. You will get lost and spin around for way longer than intended or needed.
Any hopes of GPS assistance is now forgotten, the GPS did not update or record the changes, so you'll find yourself going to dead end U-turns and missing squares.
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| Heavy Cairo traffic |
With those negatives being said, the area is now much more easier to get through. Traffic is non existent and its no longer just a car park. Once you get familiar with the new road you will eventually find that it is a huge improvement, a much needed one.
You could clear out the entire area in four minutes with the new roads. That however is not a very good thing since their are no pedestrian bridges in the roads for people to cross, and they have no choice but to cross the street; the street that you could reach 140 kph in.
There will probably be many accidents and unfortunately many deaths following this, due to the lack of bridges.
Aftermath:
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| Road layout in Cairo |
According to the Global Economy, Egypt jumped 89 places in road quality rankings from the 118th in 2014 to the 29th in 2019, after reaching and celebrating the previous spot of 75.
From ranking a 2.7/7 in universal road quality, Egypt has now jumped to a 5.1/7 following these plans. Fatalities in Egypt caused by accidents decreased by 50% from 2014 till now. General traffic accidents went down from 14,710 to 8,480 in 2019.
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| Deaths from accidents compared to other causes |
Emad Nabil, a transport expert and consultant, told Al-Ahram newspaper in April that a major reason behind the decline in accidents’ rate is that cargo vehicles or trucks are separated from private vehicles.
These changes came after plans that were first discussed in 2011. It was not a sudden shift or change. This is almost a decade long planning to revolutionize and modernize Egyptian roads and to make the roads bearable.
By the end of this year, Egypt should be evaluating its progress on the decade of action and planning.
"Whether we travel as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists or drivers, all of us - as parents, students, employees, volunteers and concerned citizens – can be leaders for road safety. When the right to a safe journey is a priority, everybody wins!," read a May statement by WHO.
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