Petra Region Entrance and Gate Project – Tawal Castles
Project Description
As part of PDTRA plans and in implementation of the comprehensive strategic plan, PDTRA invited a tender for documents and designs for the Petra Gate Project (ring road) taking into consideration the development and modernization of the current infrastructure due to its inappropriateness, random implementation of the roads and its inability to accommodate the next phase in case of the increasing number of tourists visiting and leaving Petra, and to beautify the entrance of Petra to befit the greatness of the place and its historical heritage as it is connected with the most important sites of high, unique and charming overlook over Petra mountains, valleys and built-up areas (Tawal Castles) where it will open the way for investors to take advantage of this region to expand tourism investment due to the distinction of this region and the large demand on it, including establishment of many vital projects in all fields (infrastructure, tourism, investment.)
PDTRA studied several alternatives in the field of transportation, tourist and local traffic movement inside the region, in addition to entering and exiting the area by building roads and main vital entrances and other alternates such as the arterial road project, and the ring connection road represented in Petra Gate Project. All components of these projects serve the local communities and provide easy and convenient routes for tourist and local transport as they are linked to each other in a well thought out way with the aim to facilitate the movement of tourists and citizens alike, and to find other road alternates in anticipation of any circumstances or security emergencies. On the other hand, these projects together open the door for population expansion to the people of the region, according to urban planning provided for in the comprehensive strategic plan, not to mention the availability of the necessary infrastructure in the new areas which will attract local and foreign investments in the region.
Through Petra Gate Project, PDTRA will organize the random roads leading to the city, which are considered visual contamination. The visitor cannot easily find his way from Petra to other areas (Amman, Aqaba) without entering the center of the city which is an indicator to the tourist that he arrived at the World Heritage Site of Petra.
Project goals
- Organize the random streets leading to and from the entrance to the region and link the project with the tourist bus stations project which will be transferred from the current position (visitor center) to its proposed location near Petra Gate (the region entrance).
- Find new organizational sites for urbanization as outlined in PDTRA comprehensive strategic plan.
- This project will be a ring road from the city entrance directly towards Aqaba road.
- Establish stations to stand on the archaeological site overlooks.
- Attract investment, where PDTRA developed the investment map project, which included the Telfrek project. There will be two main stations on this road:
- Petra Gate entrance / the new tourist bus station.
- Tawal Castles road.
- Distribute the development gains to new vital areas.
The first phase includes the re-establishment of the main detour to Wadi Mousa Gate, which includes:
- Rehabilitation and expansion of Amman-Wadi Mousa road, re-connecting and organizing all roads intercrossing with Amman-Wadi Mousa road with ring road, 420 m long: a roundabout with 3 lanes.
- Develop landscapes including (Petra Gate, roundabout, median landscape).
- The construction of retaining walls and earthworks, and drainage system including the establishment of boxes and tubular culverts.
- Plan and establish temporary turns as needed.
- Remove, relocate and / or rebuild service buildings that hinder construction.
- Establish three rows of obelisks, each obelisk is 45 meters long and 12 meters high of different sizes with same colors of the rose city as it simulates the nature of the archaeological area and the World Heritage site and makes the visitor feels that he came to this site to draw the mental image of the visitor through this scene of the heritage site and its nature as a world heritage site which is for the tourist a site and city of dream and surprise.