Trips to Al Wakrah are going to become more fraught in the coming months once Ashghal closes the main road to the town this weekend.

Instead, commuters can use newly opened six-lane road called the Najma Extension, which isaimed at making it easier to drive between Doha and Al Wakrah.

The new 2.4km roadway also connects with Barwa Village. It starts at the old foot of Najma St. at F-Ring Road, and runs south over the new East Corridor via a 117m bridge.

It then hooks east to meet Al Wakrah Road, south of G-Ring Road. In a statement, Ashghal said:

“Road users can now travel to and from central Doha and Al Wakra without the need to access Al Matar Street or Ras Abu Aboud Road, in addition to benefiting from reduced congestion and shorter transit times in the south of Doha.”

The Najma Extension has a speed limit of 80 km/h.

Ashghal called the project a “significant milestone” toward improving the roads and other infrastructure south of Doha.

In recent years, government planners have been encouraging more residents to move to communities outside the capital by expanding hospitals, building schools and opening new recreational facilities in areas such as Al Wakrah and Al Khor.

New roads, such as the Najma Extension, should also make it easier for residents living on the outskirts to commute into Doha for work.

Roadwork

Meanwhile, the transportation network in the area around Barwa Village continues to undergo significant upgrades.

However, constructing those new roads often involves short-term pain for motorists.

Starting overnight on this Friday-Saturday (June 24-25), a key stretch of Al Wakrah will be closed. In a statement today, Ashghal did not say when it would reopen.

There are two main alternate routes available to motorists.

Those travelling to or from either Hamad International Airport or the Corniche can use Ras Abu Aboud Road.

Meanwhile, the new Najma Extension can be used to access central Doha.

Ashghal says it needs to close the road to facilitate construction of its East Corridor project – a new 10-lane, 22km highway from Al Matar St., south of the Air Force Roundabout, to west of Barwa City.

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And Qatar Rail contractors are constructing the southern portion of the Doha Metro Red Line, which features several kilometers of elevated tracks leading to the end of the line in Al Wakrah.

Thoughts?