Key road opening a boon to motorists

A high-speed stretch of road on the Doha Expressway opened yesterday bringing a sigh of relief to hundreds of motorists.

The February 22-Amir Street Road was opened to traffic yesterday, marking a major milestone in the ambitious QR15bn Doha Expressway project.

Hundreds of vehicles sped off on the roads leading from the intersection soon after it was declared open in the evening.

The completion of this phase of the project now offers commuters absolute use of two-way, non-stop, high speed (120kph maximum) access from Tadamon Roundabout (D-Ring Road) all the way to Landmark Mall Intersection over a three- and four-lane high-grade surface, significantly reducing travel time from an hour to just minutes.

Also opened was a 6km stretch of February 22 and Amir Street, part of phases 1 and 2 of the Doha Expressway, from near the Omar Bin Khattab Mosque to Giant Store near Al Mirqab Street.

Earlier, the hundreds of motorists had started gathering at the Immigration Intersection from 4pm for the opening of the crucial road which is expected to bring immediate relief to traffic in nearby areas and greater Doha. Senior officials from Public Works Authority (Ashghal), Lakhwiya, Traffic Department led the way aboard a Karwa bus and encircled the 6km stretch.

The project was, however, delayed by months. Work on the stretch had stopped in August 2009, after Ashghal and main contractor ran into a dispute.

The activity resumed with the Ashghal awarding the contracts to three Doha-based contractors, Boom Construction, Bin Omran Trading and Qatar Asphalt Company.

“When we got to the worksite it was approximately 60% completed. We have since then been eager to finish this crucial road for people in Madina Khalifa and Doha,” Boom Construction Company pavement construction manager Hazem Moghrabi told Gulf Times.

“Our part of the work included several road layers, asphalt and some draining as well as water works,” Moghrabi added.

The design of the phase 1 and 2 highway also includes four interchanges with Omar Bin Khattab and Rayyan Street opened now while work was still being done on Jowan (Centrepoint) and Sadd.

The opened portion now connects the Al Rayyan Street to Doha Expressway and has been achieved with four levels, including an 800m-long tunnel with a three-lane dual carriageway; Rayyan bridge with a two-lane, 800m dual carriageway towards New Rayyan Street and a link road with two lanes of 380m between 22 February Street and Rayyan Street, as well as roundabouts serving three rotational motion in all directions and eventually re-creating 1800m of Rayyan Road.

The project also saw the construction of a tunnel in the direction of Mecca Street (900m) and was opened earlier in February.

The Sadd Interchange includes reconstruction of the 1,200m-long Sadd Street intersecting the Doha Expressway and building the Sadd Tunnel with a two-lane dual carriageway.

The Jowan Interchange includes reconstruction of the street over 1km to intersect the expressway, in addition to a signalled intersection as well as 700m three-lane dual carriageway.