Vehicles passing through a newly-opened stretch of Orbital Highway.
The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has opened to traffic 37 kilometres of the New Orbital Highway and Truck Route project.
The opened parts include a 29-kilometre section of the New Orbital Highway between its intersection with the East West Corridor and intersection with Dukhan Highway, where three out of seven lanes were opened to traffic, as well as an eight-kilometre stretch of Mesaieed Road, from South Al Wakra to Hamad Port, with two out of four lanes opened to traffic.
The opening of these parts of the Orbital Highway comes as part of a series of partial openings of the other remaining sections in the coming few months until the final delivery of the project in 2018.
Eng. Yousef Al Emadi, Manager of Expressway Department at Ashghal, stated that the new works opened 30 days before deadline since Ashghal had rescheduled some projects incorporating the New Orbital Highway and Truck Route in line with Ashghal’s commitment to deliver the expressway projects on or before time.
The latest opening is the second accomplishment of the New Orbital Highway project this year as Ashghal had inaugurated the linking road between Hamad Port and Truck Route on February 27 this year.
A couple of bridges opened in the interchange linking Orbital Highway and Dukhan Highway, to be fully in use in the following months since 75 percent of the structure works of the interchange were already completed. The Orbital Dukhan Interchange is a key access point on Dukhan Highway linking the vital Al Jahhaniya Interchange on Dukhan road, Al Rayyan area, and Al Shamal Road.
Also, the interchange connecting the Orbital Highway and East West Corridor is 75 percent complete as one of the bridges dedicated for light vehicles and a tunnel dedicated for heavy vehicles from East West Corridor to Orbital Highway were opened. Once completed, the junction will involve three levels, two bridges, and two tunnels in order to enhance traffic between the East West Corridor and the New Orbital Highway.
The 29-km section provides a direct connection with Salwa Road and Dukhan Highway to form an alternative route apart from Doha that would help cut traffic jams.
The new route is a key connection to several economic and agricultural activities since a host of farms and the logistics Village are situated along the Orbital highway. The three lanes replaced the two lanes in the previous route, catering to 6,000 vehicles per hour in each direction in lieu of 4,000 vehicles per hour that would reduce journey time, and a hard shoulder was established for faster journey with less accident rate.
On the other hand, the eight kilometre long Mesaieed Road, from South Al Wakra to Hamad Port, will enhance traffic and create easier access to travellers from Doha and Al Wakra to Hamad Port and southern areas.
The Orbital Highway enhances the flow of traffic and shortens journey times by 50 percent. The New Orbital Highway and Truck Route project is considered an important addition to the road network in Qatar. It will serve as a vital link between the southern and northern areas in Qatar. The project is located in the North, West, and South of Doha City, and includes a total of around 195km of roads, starting from Mesaieed areas in the South to the West of Al Khor city in the North.
The project also includes the construction of 21 main interchanges, including tunnels and flyovers, connecting the Orbital with the highways and main roads such as the East West Corridor, Salwa Road, Dukhan Highway, and Al Shamal. This will significantly enhance the flow of traffic and shorten the journey times by around 50% on average, compared to the time spent in the same journey using the existing roads.
