- College
- College of Engineering
- Campus
- Dammam
- Track
- Engineering
- Level
- Undergraduate
- Degree
- BSc
- Years of study
- 5
- Credit hours
- 174
Career Opportunities
Transport activity, a key component of economic development and human welfare, is increasing around the world as economies grow. For most policymakers, the most pressing problems associated with this increasing transport activity are traffic fatalities and injuries, congestion, air pollution and petroleum dependence. These problems are especially acute in the most rapidly growing economies of the developing world.
With $350 billion in new projects, Saudi Arabia has embarked on a significant economic development program with the goal of establishing the kingdom as a global industrial force. To support this aim, and to position the country as a regional transport and logistics platform, much of the investment is directed at the creation of a sophisticated infrastructure.
The government is upgrading capacity to meet the challenge of a growing and increasingly affluent population. But nowhere is this more evident than in the country’s transport system. The country’s rail network is preparing for change, on a massive scale. New lines will link the east and west coasts of the country and population centers from north to south. The country’s ports and port-storage facilities will also be expanded as the kingdom seeks to establish itself as a regional transshipment center, in competition with established Gulf hubs through developing an efficient and cost-effective transport infrastructure. Developing an effective transport system in a country of Saudi Arabia’s size, difficult landscape and climate, and soaring ambitions, is a formidable challenge. The government is already scrambling to keep up with the growth of existing urban and industrial centers even as plans for new cities are coming off the drawing board.
The challenges of the transportation sector reflect largely those that the Kingdom faces as a whole. Example of such challenges that necessitate a re-focusing of transportation policy While the transportation sector is playing a vital role in supporting the rapid economic growth and social development of the Kingdom, related transportation safety problems and environmental concerns have reached serious levels and must be addressed by qualified engineers in transportation and traffic engineering. Thus, the issue of transportation is obviously crucial, not only now but in the future.
In KSA The length of constructed asphalted road of freeway was 59000 km and more than 139,000km agricultural roads and 22,000km under construction. Today, many of the inter-city roads to expressways accommodate anything up to eight lanes for traffic. Saudi Arabia has several hundred route kilometers railways linking the capital Riyadh with Dammam in Arabian Gulf coast, but it's still the only passenger train service in the entire Gulf. There are plans to extend the network to Jeddah. The new 440 km Haramain High Speed Rail Project will link Makkah and Medina during the next few years.
The AL Mashaar AL Mugaddassah Metro in the holy city of Makkah opened in November 2010. There are 8 ports in KSA and 183 dockets. Also there are 26 modern airports: 4 are international airports, 6 are regional airports and 16 are domestic airports. (Source: http://www.mot.gov.sa). The pipeline length for oil and gas: condensate 212 km; gas 2,846 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,183 km; oil 4,232 km; refined products 1,151 km (2010). Thus this huge transport systems need a number of well qualified engineers in transportation and traffic engineering in planning, design, operation and maintenance process.
The Transportation and Traffic Engineering field exposes students to the process of alleviating transportation problems. The coursework and research in the area provide advanced knowledge in transportation planning and economics, traffic engineering, and the design of highways/pavements and other transportation facilities. Transportation Engineering students acquire advanced skills concerning the planning, design, operations, maintenance, rehabilitation, performance, and evaluation of transportation systems, including their economic and public policy aspects.
