This study deals with the analysis of the influences of building a  by-pass road on the development of a small town through the case-study analysis of Majd-Alkroom.

The study used a longitudinal study type approach , investigating changes that occurred over time in relation to the construction of the first bypass road in 1952 and the second bypass in 1996 .

The methodology adopted in the study includes :

1. A literature review on the subject of bypass roads and their influence on urban and economic development and on road safety .
2. Data were collected for the period of 1945-2003 on a variety of subjects including road accidents , traffic volumes , land-use changes , land prices and spatial changes in housing and commerce .
3. An opinion survey of the town's residents was conducted to view their opinion of the influences of the bypass roads .
4. A study of the decision-making processes that were involved in the construction of the two bypasses .
5. A study of the residents' objections to the bypass construction , as manifested in formal objections presented to the planning commission prior to the construction of each bypass .

Whereas the first bypass constricted  land - use development for reasons described in the study and the road safety situations did not improve , the second bypass was associated with positive changes in most aspects. It appears that the bypass effects depended on a variety of variables including : the bypass's location , its distance from the town centre , the level of socio - economic development , approved  land - use plan , planning policy , town size and traffic volumes .