Route 47 (Oman)

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Route 47

طريق ٤٧
Salalah–Sarfayt Road
Route 47 highlighted in red
Route information
Length160 km[1] (99 mi)
Major junctions
From Route 49 / Route 31 in Salalah
West endNational Route 4, Yemen near Sarfayt
Location
CountryOman
Highway system

Route 47 (Arabic: طريق ٤٧), colloquially known as Salalah–Sarfayt Road (Arabic: طريق صلالة - صرفيت), is a national route that runs along part of the coastal area of the governorate of Dhofar from the city of Salalah to the border with Yemen. The road passes through several tourist areas of the region including several beaches and additionally climbs more than 40 meters over the course of 3 miles.[2]

The road is called by various names in different sections such as Al Rabut Street in the metropolitan area of the capital city of the governorate and in more distant areas as Sultan Qaboos Street (Arabic: شارع السلطان قابوس), additionally it connects the Port of Raysut, one of the main ports for trade in southern Oman.[3]

The road passes through quite mountainous areas of the Far South of Oman including the area around the Shaat Cliffs where some of the terrain had to be leveled in order to build the road.[a]

History

Route 47 crossing the mountainous area of the Dhalkut Wilayat

In the 1970s, the Omani government was planning to improve the region's infrastructure in order to connect Dhofar with the rest of the country including efforts to connect Salalah with the port of Rakhyut, one of the first efforts being the construction of Route 47 as well as plans to build Route 31 to connect the governorate's capital with the town of Thumrait.[4] In the late 1980s, the national government focused on completing the sections connecting to Sarfayt.[5]

The creation of several national roads as well as the urbanization of the governorate has altered to some extent the movement of Arabian leopard around the mountainous areas of Dhofar.[b] In mid-2018, much of Dhofar's infrastructure was affected following Cyclone Mekunu including much of the sections between Al Mughsayl and Dhalkut for Route 47.[7]

In early 2022, Oman's Ministry of Transport inaugurated a new bridge across Wadi Afoul.[8] In mid 2023, the local government approved the dualization of part of Route 47 specifically in the Rasyut and Mughsayl sections, covering about 27 km of road with the objective of improving transportation to nearby tourist areas, in addition to the approval of new animal crossings and work on the improvement of the interchanges.[9]

As part of Dhofar's road modernization efforts, the Omani Ministry of Transport announced projects in 2024 to rehabilitate part of Route 47 to avoid accidents, costing about 11.3 million Omani rials. These projects have focused on the sections connecting Sarfayt near the Yemeni border and Arjut (Arabic: ارجوت).[c]

Route description

Route 47 heading towards Al Fazayih (Arabic: الفزايح)

Dhofar Governorate

The route starts in the center of the city of Salalah, specifically at the intersection of Al Mansoorah Street and Ar Rubat Street. The route then heads to the western part of the city, crossing around the Sultan Qaboos Complex Youth Culture & Entertainment (Arabic: مجمع السلطان قابوس الشبابي للثقافة والترفيه بصلالة). The national route also passes around the western part of the ʽAwqad suburb (Arabic: عوقد).[11]

Route 47 then heads to the Raysut industrial area. From this point, the national route heads far to the west, specifically rural areas around Wadi Adawni (Arabic: وادى مدونب).[12] Subsequently, Route 47 traverses the coastal area of Mughsail (Arabic: المغسيل) and passes around Wadi Ashawq Nature Reserve (Arabic: وادي اشوق). Additionally, this section of the road passes around several archaeological sites that are located in Mughsail including castle ruins.[d]

The national route then heads to the mountainous area of Wadi Afoul (Arabic: وادي عفول). In this section, the route goes a little further southwest of the governorate passing through the Aqhishan viewpoint (Arabic: مطل اقيشان) and in addition to Al Fazayih Beach (Arabic: شاطئ الفزايح). Subsequently, the road heads to the area around the Shaat Cliffs (Arabic: شعت) and then continues much further west and passes around the urban center of the town of Ajdarawt (Arabic: اجدروت).

The road passes around the Jabal al Qamr (Arabic: جبل القمر) area.[14] The road subsequently crosses part of the Wadi Sayq (Arabic: وادي سيق).[15], In addition, Route 47 also passes around the mountainous area of Khadrafi (Arabic: خضرفي) in the Wilayat of Dhalkut. The last sections of Route 47 leads to the town of Sarfayt (Arabic: صرفيت) until it reaches the Yemeni border, specifically with the Al Mahrah Governorate, which connects it to Yemeni National Route 4.

Major intersections

GovernorateLocationkmmiDestinationsNotes
DhofarSalalah00.0 Route 49 / Route 31Arabic: طريق ٤٩
Shaat8251Shaat Main Road[16]Arabic: طريق دارشعت
Ashqul10062Ashqul - Rakhyut Road[17]Arabic: طريق اشقول - رخيوت
Ardayt10565 Route 45[18]Arabic: طريق ٤٥
Arjut12175Arjut - Rakhyut Road[19]Arabic: طريق أرجوت - رخيوت
Hafoof14489Hafoof - Dhalkut Road[20]Arabic: طريق حفوف - ضلكوت
Khadrafi15093Khadrafi - Dhalkut Road[21]Arabic: طريق خضرفي - ضلكوت
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Route 47 (Oman).

Notes

  1. ^ "This road is a real engineering marvel, as it was carved into the cliff face of dramatic mountains and zig-zags up and down 400m within 5km, with many of the hairpins at gradients of 10-12 per cent." - Quote from Times of Oman[1]
  2. ^ "It is possible that the Salalah-Sarfayt road that runs through Jabar Qamar, in combination with associated settlements and livestock herds, has restricted leopard movement and induced genetic differentiation between Jabal Qamar and Jabal Qara populations" (Page 14)[6]
  3. ^ “The road passes through rugged mountainous terrain requiring rerouting to avoid landslide-prone areas,” - Quote from Khamis bin Mohammed al Shammakhi, undersecretary of Oman's Ministry of Transport[10]
  4. ^ Arabic: وتوجد بمنطقة المغسيل على بعد 45كم غرب مدينة صلالة ثلاثة مواقع أثرية بارزة، في خور المغسيل وبرج مراقبة يعلو كهف المرنيف ومقابر إسلامية في الساحل الجنوبي للمغسيل.وهناك آثار في مناطق مختلفة من المحافظة عبارة - Translation: The Al Mughassil area, 45 km west of Salalah, has three prominent archaeological sites: the Al Mughsail Creek, a watchtower atop the Al Marneef Cave, and Islamic tombs on the southern coast of Al Mughsail. [13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Salalah's Best Scenic Routes for Long Drives". Times of Oman. 2016. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  2. ^ Tindall, Jay (2017-08-22). "The Furious Road to Yemen". Remote Lands: Travelogues. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  3. ^ Darke, Diana; Walsh, Tony (2017). Bradt Travel Guides (ed.). Oman. p. 317. ISBN 9781784770204. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  4. ^ Wilson, Rodney (1979). Palgrave Macmillan UK (ed.). The Economies of the Middle East. p. 125. ISBN 9781349034215.
  5. ^ Taylor & Francis, ed. (2014). Oman Under Qaboos: From Coup to Constitution, 1970-1996. p. 157. ISBN 9781135314378.
  6. ^ "Can genetic rescue help save Arabia's last big cat?". Evolutionary Applications. 2024. doi:10.1111/eva.13701.
  7. ^ "Cyclone Mekunu: 'We are working hand-in-hand' to help Dhofar". Times of Oman. 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  8. ^ "جسر جديد يسهم في الحركة بين صلالة ورخيوت وضلكوت" [New bridge contributes to movement between Salalah, Rakhyut and Dhalkut]. Atheer.om (in Arabic). 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  9. ^ Prabhu, Conrad (2023-07-13). "Dualisation of key Salalah road in Oman to support tourism, economic growth". Zawya. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  10. ^ "Dhofar, Jabal Akhdar road projects to boost connectivity, tourism". Muscat Daily. 2024-09-21. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  11. ^ Salalah Water Supply Well Field Protection Zones (PDF) (Map). Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
  12. ^ Google (2024-03-04). "As Sultan Qaboos St, Dhofar Governorate, Oman". Google Street View. Google. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  13. ^ "المواقــع الأثرية في محافظة ظفــــار" [Archaeological sites in Dhofar Governorate]. Dhofar Government (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  14. ^ Searle, Mike (2019). Springer International Publishing (ed.). Geology of the Oman Mountains, Eastern Arabia. p. 425. ISBN 9783030184537. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  15. ^ Lawrence Ball, Waheed Al Fazari & James Borrell (2013). "Wadi Sayq and surrounding area, with survey locations from 2012 and 2013 identified." (Map). Birds of Wadi Sayq, Dhofar, Oman: British Exploring Society expeditions January–March 2012 and 2013 (PDF) (2015 ed.). Sandgrouse Journal. p. 2. Far south of Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman inset.
  16. ^ Google (2024-11-18). "Driving Directions from Salalah to Shaat" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  17. ^ Google (2024-11-18). "Driving Directions from Salalah to Ashqul" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  18. ^ Google (2024-11-18). "Driving Directions from Salalah to Route 45" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  19. ^ Google (2024-11-18). "Driving Directions from Salalah to Arjut" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  20. ^ Google (2024-11-18). "Driving Directions from Salalah to Hafoof" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  21. ^ Google (2024-11-18). "Driving Directions from Salalah to Khadrafi" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
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