Transport Ministry experiments replacing asphalt color from black to blue and white in Riyadh  

Saudi Gazette Report

RIYADH — Deputy Minister of Transport and Logistics for Road Affairs Eng. Badr Al-Dalami said that the ministry has implemented an experiment to replace the color of asphalt from black to blue and white in Riyadh to cool asphalt surfaces. “The experiment has already been completed in the Holy Sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah and the results were stimulating, and this project will be expanded to include all regions across the Kingdom in the future,” he said.

He made the remarks during the ceremony to launch the Saudi Road Code in Riyadh on Monday. Minister of Transport and Logistics and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Roads General Authority Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser inaugurated the Saudi Road Code.

Al-Dalami said that the Saudi Road Code is a national achievement and will be the only technical reference for all agencies implementing roads in the Kingdom. “In 2023, we inaugurated more than 2,400 linear kilometers of roads, and in the beginning of 2024, we inaugurated hundreds of kilometers of high-quality roads that achieve safety and sustainability,” he said.

The deputy minister stressed that the General Authority for Roads works to organize and supervise the road sector in the Kingdom by setting the necessary policies and standards for designing, constructing and maintaining roads. “The authority is working to achieve the objectives of the road sector strategy, which is based on safety, quality and traffic density, which aims to reach the sixth index in the world in road quality, while reducing deaths to less than five cases per 100,000 people by 2030,” he added.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Minister of Transport Al-Jasser said: “This is a historic moment in which we launch the first Saudi Road Code, and Saudi Arabia is the first in the world in the spread of roads and their connections with high efficiency.”

The Saudi Road Code is a technical reference for the authorities responsible for roads in Saudi Arabia at all levels, such as ministries, development authorities in the regions, city development authorities, regional mayoralties, municipalities of cities and governorates so as to enable the authorities to access the information necessary for planning, designing, implementation, operation and maintenance of all types of roads in Saudi Arabia. The code aims to set a specific level for levels of safety and security, economic efficiency, environment, and sustainability.

The Saudi Road Code includes 25 codes distributed over planning and preliminary studies of roads, as well as the design, implementation and maintenance of roads, bridges and tunnels, in addition to traffic engineering and road safety. There is also a special code for the environmental aspects of roads, with a code allocated to the requirements of self-driving vehicles

The launch of this national code comes from the role of the Roads General Authority as a governmental body that supervises and regulates the entire road network in Saudi Arabia, through preparing the necessary policies, regulations and systems for constructing and maintaining roads.

The Roads General Authority, in partnership with all relevant authorities, worked to prepare the Saudi Road Code in accordance with international best practices, ensuring contribution to achieving the objectives of the road sector strategy. This strategy is based on safety, quality and traffic density, whose vision stipulates enhancing the safety and sustainability of the road sector, led by national competencies, raising the quality of the road network and the experience of its users, and encouraging innovation.

This code was prepared due to the multiplicity of agencies implementing the road network in the Kingdom and the multiplicity of specifications and policies that are followed by each agency. The need arose to prepare a special code for Saudi roads, taking into account all changes and terrain in various regions of the Kingdom, and setting a specific level for safety, security, quality, environment and sustainability.