Shafaq News- Saladin

Iraq has begun work on a six-billion-dinar ($3.95 million) project to upgrade a ring road and replace the Al-Zarka Bridge on the route between Tuz Khurmatu and Tikrit in Saladin province, provincial council member Atif Al-Najar told Shafaq News on Sunday.

The roadworks involve installing flood-resistant drainage pipes, each 35 meters long and four meters wide, to improve traffic flow and protect the route from seasonal flooding, according to Al-Najar, who said the project also includes replacing the existing bridge with a new 12-meter-high structure designed to withstand rising water levels.

Flooding has repeatedly disrupted travel between the two cities. After the crossing failed earlier this year, detours stretched the usual 30-minute journey to nearly three hours. In July, the Saladin Provincial Council reported that rising water levels in Diyala’s Hamrin Dam reservoir had submerged both the damaged bridge and its temporary dirt bypass, forcing motorists to take the Al-Udhaim Dam or Tikrit–Kirkuk roads instead.

Read more: Iraq’s annual rains expose persistent infrastructure failures