Starting Aug. 15, construction will commence near the Radisson Blu (Ramada) signal as part of a planned C-Ring Road overhaul to improve congestion on one of Qatar’s most trafficked arteries.

The affected area goes from New Salata intersection (near the former Al Andalus petrol station) to Kinana intersection (just before La Cigale Hotel) and from the Centre Roundabout to just before Al Asiri intersection.

Work was originally not expected to begin on this particularly trafficky stretch until next year, according to Ashghal.

But in a statement today, Qatar’s public works authority said that it is skipping ahead to phase four of the project from phase one because of conflicting construction in the area:

“The reason behind starting works on the fourth phase prior to starting the planned second phase, is to prevent the overlap between the works of the C-Ring Road project and the works of a new expressway project that will commence in the near future.”

Speaking to Doha News, an Ashghal spokeswoman declined to further explain which expressway project would be starting soon.

Phase four details

Phase four construction will be broken down into two parts, with an expected completion date of mid-January 2015.

First, all four intersections will be equipped with new signals that include pedestrian crossings, an additional road lane and the repaving of the existing three lanes.

Once completed, the second stage of construction will commence, and will focus on C Ring feeder lanes, joining it to roads like Ali Bin Taleb Road and the Salwa Road extension.

Ashghal said two lanes will remain open to traffic in both directions throughout the construction period.

Some service roads will be closed, but diversions will be put in so commuters can access businesses and residences in the area.

Both stages are estimated to take two and a half months each.

C-Ring overhaul

The C-Ring project first began in May, and is expected to span a 6.3km stretch. Ashghal has structured the roadwork into four phases, with phase one almost complete.

The first phase focused on improving the most northern parts of C-Ring road — from Umm Ghuwailina (VIP Roundabout) to halfway between Toyota and Gulf Cinema signals.

VIP R/A has been replaced with a signal-controlled intersection and the pre-final layer of asphalt is currently being laid onto newly added intersection lanes.

Ashghal recently confirmed that work on phase one is on track, and will be completed by September.

All four phases of C-Ring road construction are expected to be completed by mid-2015. Once all four phases are complete, the following improvements will have been made:

• 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.

Thoughts?