Roads and Railways

The King Fahd Causeway is a showpiece of the Arabian Gulf. At 15.5 miles, it is the second longest in the world, and has connected Saudi Arabia to the state of Bahrain since 1986. This engineering masterpiece, spanning long stretches of sea and reclaimed land, cost 12 billion U.S. dollars to build. Its five bridges rest on 536 concrete pylons, with seven embankments constructed in the Gulf's shallower waters. One embankment is actually a sizable artificial island complete with customs and immigration facilities, a mosque and a restaurant. The causeway has not only streamlined the transport of goods and people, but also strengthened the cultural and social bonds between the two nations.

With the highway system now largely in place the government's emphasis has shifted from construction to more efficient operation and maintenance. However, one road project under consideration for the 21st century is a causeway to link Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The 9.24-mile causeway between the Saudi coast and the Sinai peninsula, along Tiran Island, would connect the eastern and western flanks of the Arab world.

In the 1940s, King Abdulaziz encouraged the building of a railroad from Riyadh through the desert to the port of Dammam. Completed in 1951, the line is operated by the Saudi Government Railway Organization (SGRO). In the 1990s, the railways carried around half a million passengers annually, and nearly two million tons of goods. One of SGRO's major tasks is to transport cargo from Dammam, a modern port on the Arabian Gulf, to Riyadh.  The Riyadh-Dammam line, which has station stops at Hofuf and Abqaiq, is being extended to Jubail Industrial City, the site of major industrial facilities. Eventually, the railway network will reach Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah, and an extension will link Riyadh to mining areas in the north. This expansion is being carried out by the private sector.