One of Qatar’s most vital and congested roads will be revamped in four phases over the next year, with construction on the first phase starting May 1, the country’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced.
Some 6.3km of C Ring Road, starting with Umm Ghuwailina (VIP) Roundabout and ending with the Ramada Junction, will be overhauled to increase road capacity on C Ring by 25 percent.
The affected intersections will include Najma (Toyota Signal), Al Mansoora (Gulf Cinema signal), Rawdat AlKhail (Holiday Villa signal), New Salata (near the former Al Andalus Petrol station), and Jabur bin Ahmed (Ramada signal).
Construction work on these sections will entail:
- Widening the road from three to four lanes;
- Establishing pedestrian crossings at all four intersections under construction;
- Installing three U-turn lanes with pedestrian crossings in the 6.3km stretch (not specified where);
- Construction of permanent roads with new traffic signals and street lighting; and
- Upgrading irrigation pipes in the area.
The first affected area will be from VIP Roundabout (which will be converted to a signalized intersection), to halfway between Toyota and Gulf Cinema signals. Construction on this swathe of road is expected to go from May 1 to the third quarter of the year – which could be as late as September.
According to Ashghal, three lanes will remain open to traffic in both directions throughout the construction period. In a statement, it added:
As part of phase 1, service roads in the area will be closed to traffic. During construction, pedestrian crossings will be provided as access to businesses and residents living in the vicinity of the construction area. Also, side-walks will be available to gain access to the entrance of properties.
The four phases will be carried out with a scheduled completion date of mid-2015.
Ashghal did not specify the cost of the project, which is being implemented by Qatari contracting company Bin Omran Trading and Contracting. But last year, the Public Works Authority floated a $1.8 million tender to overhaul C Ring.
That bid described the project as a 24/7 effort and included a plan to install an intelligent transportation system, presumably akin to the synchronized signals that went up on the Corniche last year.
To keep people informed about the overhaul, Ashghal said it is distributing fliers in English and Arabic to residents of the areas under work.
Thoughts?
Will it include any bus lanes and bus priority traffic lights?
Yes along with bike lanes… Right next to the jogging lanes…
That sounds nice but if the the point is to get rid of traffic jams then the bus lanes would probably be the most effective.
And you think only buses will be driving those lanes?
Not in this town but if the solution is just to build roads it will fail. If you build it they will come.
Bus lanes will be just “i think I am special so F the rest of you Im going to push in up ahead lanes”. No point at all.
Aren’t hard shoulders for that already? Given Qatar’s track record of knee jerk reactions, that will come to an end, sadly with the worst impetus. Bus lanes are much more crowded than emergency lanes next to highways, which makes for a tragic road accident waiting to happen. I’m sure the Traffic Dept. would’ve thought about it by the time the plans were made public.
What are you smoking? Or do you jest ….I’m sure the traffic Dept. Would’ve thought about it” sure they would that’s why we have 3 lane roundabouts merging into 2 lanes etc etc.
Then it would probably make more sense to invest some money in controlling what happens on the roads before spending money on the roads themselves.
Like traffic law enforcement…it is but a dream AEC, but a dream.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
To all you people moaning about the traffic and the driving… if you don’t like it then go back to your own country… no one is forcing you to be here!
yeah good luck keeping some of these crazy people out of the bus lane or emergency lanes. That type of roadway etiquette has not made it to Qatar as of yet!
lol
Looks good to me, good on them.
All of their updates should include provisions for public transportation.
Uh-Oh
Good decision. Better late than never.
I wonder how many flights will get delayed because VIPs are caught up in the inevitable traffic jams??? They might have waited a few weeks until the new airport was in operation.
Why don’t they make underpasses for non-stop flow of traffic in all these signals?
No thanks – remember the nightmare that was Salwa road, and C-ring would need many more underpasses than Salwa.
This is all very well but it just moves the bottle neck further “up the road” One of the problems here is the long timing on the traffic lights. How many times have we all been stuck trying to cross the junction because the traffic is stacked up from the previous set.
Point in case the new lights going to west bay. I thought they were supposed to be intelligent.
There is no intelligence in Qatar road way matters… and here is why:
-Locals Feel justified at breaking rules on the road (cant figure out why).
-Locals are extremely rude when driving (Allah does not ride with some people He only waits for them at the mosque)
-So many Expats can not drive at all (they didnt drive at home so how can you expect them to drive now),
-People loose site of the value of their own lives when they get in a car (Drag Racing down Salwa? really)
-There is only a vision of a big city but no planning for a big city
-No concept of a Freeway interchange system (C ring, D ring and what ever ring are jokes)
-No concept of Public transportation system
-The list goes on and on and on……
I hope the Gov really invests in planning for future growth. If you cant get around a city then the city is worthless and it in itself will be the cause of its own demise.
Ok I’m getting off my Soap box and headed for dinner at the Pearl. Anyone want to join me in traffic for the next hour? LOL!
please excuse me,
1 year for 6.3km? – too much, but thank for keeping three lines open.
6 signal in 6km stretch? – WHY ASHGHAL NO MAKE FLYOVERS?? 54 minutes on signal? (i.e, 3 minutes each signal, 3 sides, 6 signal, am i correct?)
-Widening the road from three to four lanes – Kudos
-Establishing pedestrian crossings at all four intersections – just four?? Seriously?
-Installing three U-turn lanes – no comments.
-Construction of permanent roads with new traffic signals and street lighting – ??
-Upgrading irrigation pipes in the area – NIGHTMARE, walla!