Abstract Manager

We often think of constraints as physical impediments: buildings, infrastructure, land, other tangible elements that must be avoided.  Constraints are not always physical, and often, the non-physical constraints driven by political or stakeholder desires, are often much harder to work around.  This presentation will discuss one such corridor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the physical constraints were the least constraining.

King Khalid Road (KKR) is a high-volume Saudi freeway with closely spaced high-volume interchanges that currently suffers extreme congestion.  With the Diplomatic Quarter (DQ), all of its Embassies and personnel, immediately adjacent to the corridor, KKR is the primary route from King Khalid International Airport for foreign dignitaries.  Extensive new developments are underway southwest of the city, and due to topography, the KKR corridor will always carry the brunt of this traffic as well.

Some of the physical constraints:

• Underpasses of other roadways
• Overhead decorative structures
• Access points to large-scale existing developments
• Sports Boulevard is a regionwide sprawling project to create a network of non-motorized paths and trails that crosses KKR at a particularly inconvenient location.

Some of the non-physical constraints:

• The Green Riyadh initiative to plant 7.5 million trees created a heavily landscaped median and clear zone. 
• The DQ is ringed by a 10m-high berm topped by a tree covered multi-use path popular with DQ residents and visitors.  Protecting the alignment and viewshed of the trail and the integrity of the berm itself was also of paramount importance.
• The desire to avoid creating an “urban” look to the corridor with multi-level interchanges.
• Disruption of the viewshed from a brand-new mixed-use development adjacent to the freeway.
• Avoidance of the security apparatus at the DQ entrance.

This presentation will tell the story of navigating the unique and not so unique constraints faced by this project and discuss some of the lessons learned guiding stakeholders to compromises needed to achieve success.