Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to bridge the gap between them, literally

A new bridge will be constructed with the aim of connecting northern Bahrain with eastern Saudi Arabia, local Bahraini media has reported.

During a meeting late on Friday, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz and Bahrain's King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa agreed on constructing the new bridge with the aim of bolstering economic cooperation between their two countries, the official Bahraini news agency said Saturday.

It added that the new bridge would be called after the King of Bahrain.

The agency did not mention further details about the duration of the construction of the bridge or its construction cost.

It would be the second bridge to connect the two Gulf states.

The first bridge, which is named after Saudi Arabia's late king Fahd bin Abdelaziz, is over 25 kilometres long and was opened in November 1986.

An average of 50,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day, with figures even higher during national and religious holidays such as Ramadan and Hajj, according to reports in Asharq al-Awsat.

Each month around 1.5 million vehicles are thought to cross it.

The announcement of the new bridge follows several modifications to the Fahd Causeway over the years to accommodate increased traffic.

Sidewalks and a fountain on the bridge were removed to increase the lanes from 10 to 18, and special lanes were created for specific categories of travellers to try to speed up travel time, Badr Al-Atishan, the director-general of the Fahd Causeway construction, told Asharq Al-Awsat in 2013.

“Despite the expansions that have been announced," Al-Atishan said, "there are still those who are of the opinion the situation has stayed the same, with cars piled up for hours - especially on weekends.”

The second bridge will be 2 kilometres shorter than the Fahd Causeway, at 23 kilometres, and has not received the publicity of the first.

Twitter reactions to the announcement have been mixed:

Others bemoaned the prospect of Saudi citizens travelling to Bahrain:

The King of Bahrain arrived in Saudi Arabia for a state visit late on Friday, his second to the neighboring country in less than five months.