Traffic Congestion Hits Kirkuk-Baghdad Road During Eid al-Adha Holiday

The Kirkuk Roads and Bridges Directorate reported significant traffic congestion on the Kirkuk-Baghdad road, specifically near the Daquq Bridge. Officials stated that the gridlock was caused by a surge in passenger travel and intercity commercial activity during the Eid al-Adha holiday, exacerbated by drivers ignoring traffic regulations. To alleviate these recurring issues, work is ongoing on the new Daquq Bridge project, which is currently 58% complete. The project, with a total cost of 13.306 billion dinars and a planned completion timeline of 200 days, aims to provide a permanent solution to traffic problems on this international route. Additionally, the directorate announced that the Tuz Bridge project was awarded to a contractor last week. This project, budgeted at 22.775 billion dinars with a construction period of 500 days, is expected to strengthen the regional road network and further reduce congestion. Prior damage to the existing Daquq Bridge had limited traffic to a single lane, which led to severe disruptions as vehicle volume increased throughout the holiday period.