A Diary of a New Town
With the terrible weather and the extra heat associated with road-surfacing, there has been a lot of activity at night recently. I took these shots outside our house a couple of nights ago. They started working around midnight and finished just before 4am.
It’s not by any means difficult, but it’s a lot of work! I would also argue that in the current weather it’s barely legal. They do start very early though, and are done by 11:30am. The bitumen (black stuff at the end of the video) was applied Monday afternoon. This is before the layers of asphalt, that make up the actual road surface, will be added.
I’ve been wanting to do someting like this for many parts of Mangaf: Mosques and schools being built, roads under construction, and even houses appearing from holes in the ground. But unfortunately with the weather and dust (and time!) it’s almost impossible. My Canon G11 came to the rescue. I tied it to our bedroom window (from the inside) and kept it more-or-less in the same spot. Took some snaps of the men doing the various steps.
The work started sometime ago when tonnes of earth was removed. Then new sand was brought in and compacted onto the ground. The piping was done for the sewage and rainwater lines. Then the kerb was laid and manholes fixed in place. The process above comes after weeks of tweaking the area into the right levels, and completing the small jobs here and there. It is by no means a small job. In the pictures, you will also see the base for one of the street lamps to come. Transformation is almost complete.
The company is hard at work throughout the town. I would imagine it’s better to get the bulk of the work out of the way before the summer heat – and of course Ramadan!
I haven’t had a chance to speak to the project team, but I’m sure you’ve all seen the high activity this past week. The above video is of our ‘road’ shot earlier today.
It’s been a while since I posted and there have been many developments. The area is one big mess, but if you look at the big picture, it’s getting there… I can’t wait for all the mud to go and the noise of the heavy trucks and builders.
Instead of taking lots of photos, I took a short drive around block 1 (and a tiny bit of 2) and speeded up the boring bits. I will repeat this when there is a visible difference to the area I filmed.
Less than a year from now, this will be a memory and we will have a town that looks as boring as any other town in Kuwait 
I can’t wait.
In case you’re wondering, the background music is Les Hooper’s ‘Muddy Road’.
Sorry I’ve not posted for a while…
Since the works began, there has been a lot of digging. It seems the smaller pipes are going in – I’m assuming these are the rainwater drains – in all the small roads. They dig, install and bury everything all in a couple of weeks. The main roads seem to take longer and the look more complicated. If anyone knows more, please add your comments below.
It’s a very messy time for Mangaf. Loud diggers, dusty trucks and lots and lots of excavation. The clearing up continues and digging has started on the main routes for all the pipes. While I was away for the summer, I lost my beloved trees in front of our house… I wish they put the effort to work around them instead of taking them out… but I understand.
Regular reader Abdulrahman emailed me today to say things are about to start in front of his house. It will get much messier before it startss to take shape.
Good luck everyone and be careful of the deep excavation and heavy vehicles.
