As it continues its ambitious plan to upgrade the road network across Qatar and relieve congestion at traffic pinch points, Ashghal has announced three new sets of diversions starting this weekend.
The first and most extensive is in the Old Airport area, where residents should brace themselves for five months of disruption as work begins to upgrade a handful of roads in the district.
Starting Saturday, June 27, the public works authority will begin construction on five routes in the area, which is also known as Matar Qadeem, reducing them to one lane and one-way only.
The streets affected include Al Karama Street, Al Tabarani Street, Al Hussain Bin Ali Street, Al Salah Street, and part of Al Hurriya Street.
Those living in the affected streets will be given temporary access during the construction period, which is set to continue until late November. Other motorists should find alternative routes, Ashghal said in a statement.
Temporary access to residences will be provided throughout the construction period and vehicles can also use the internal roads of the area as alternative routes.
Two phases
This is the first phase of a two-stage program to reconstruct a total of eight routes in the district, and work involves creating footpaths and parking areas, as well as installing surface and groundwater drainage systems and street lighting.
The Old Airport area is home to several neighborhoods in the longer-established parts of Doha that regularly flood during heavy winter rains as the streets lack proper drainage.
As part of the works, new signal-controled intersections will also be created at the junction of Al Hurriya and Al Salah roads, Ashghal said.
Phase two of the works will involve reconstruction and upgrading of three more streets in the area – Al Ameen Street, Al Rawdha Street and Al Thumama Street. While Ashghal has not given a start date for this stage, all the construction is expected to be completed by the middle of 2016, the authority said.
The work will likely cause a short-term headache for residents in the area as they seek alternative routes.
The district has been further impacted by new diversions around the nearby Najma area as Ashghal works to convert the Woqod Roundabout into a signalized junction and add an extra lane in the area to help with congestion.
With the road from Al Nuaija intersection at The Mall to Al Mansoura intersection near Gulf Cinema shut in both directions until about mid-July, commuters have been complaining of long traffic jams as drivers try to wind their way through the diversions.
Jelaiah roundabout
On the other end of town, Ashghal has said it has begun to convert Jelaiah roundabout in Duhail to a signalized intersection, which will affect traffic in the area until the the first phase of construction wrap ups at the end of September.
Sections of the surrounding roads of Al Khafiji Street and Arab League Street will be upgraded as part of the work, adding in an extra lane to help reduce congestion in the area, which gets particularly busy with traffic heading to Qatar University and the College of the North Atlantic in particular.
While the roads will not be closed for the duration, the number of lanes will be reduced from three to two. All works in the area will continue until early 2016, Ashghal added.
Al Maamoura diversion
The final diversion involves the service road running between Al Asiri (Midmac) interchange and Khalifa Bin Abdullah Al Attiyah interchange, on Al Amir Street which Ashghal said will shut for maintenance on Friday, June 26, for 45 days.
The closure on the route, which links Salwa Road with Haloul Street in Al Maamoura, will be in place until Aug. 6 to allow for repairs to longitudinal cracks in the side of the road.
The diversion will mean that motorists coming from Salwa Road who want to turn right to get to Al Amir Street will need to make a U-turn to go back to Faleh Bin Nasser Interchange, then take a left and left again onto Haloul Street to reach Al Amir Street, Ashghal said.
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