Seven months after announcing plans to upgrade 8.2 km of the Al Rayyan Road, Qatar’s public works authority has finally commenced construction on the first two phases of the project.
In a statement released today, Ashghal said that work will begin imminently on the massive QR4.5 billion endeavor, part of its program to provide highway links that connect areas around Qatar.
The project appears to be slightly behind schedule – in January, Ashghal said Al Rayyan Road construction would begin in the first quarter of the year.
Phase one
As part of phase one, a 2.9km stretch from west of Khalid bin Abdullah al-Attiyah roundabout (New Rayyan roundabout) to the east of Bani Hajer roundabout, servicing areas around Education City, will be upgraded.
Construction will begin on three multi-level interchanges:
- The Wajba interchange between Al Rayyan road and Al Wajba Street;
- The Al Shafi interchange between Al Rayyan road and Al Shafi street (a two-level interchange); and
- The Al Qalah interchange (Castle R/A) between Al Rayyan road and Al Qalah (another two-level interchange).
Ashghal added that the road would be turned into an eight-lane expressway, with four lanes in each direction, and 2km of peripheral roads to be constructed or upgraded.
Phase one is expected to be completed by the end of 2016, with the aim of reducing congestion in the Al Rayyan area.
However, the roadwork will likely create more traffic for now, as new diversions will be put in place to bypass roads that are under construction, adding to existing construction in and around Education City.
Additionally, new and improved pedestrian and bicycle paths will be constructed to encourage people to walk and use other, more energy-efficient and sustainable means of transport.
Phase two
The second phase of the project encompasses 5.3km of road from the west of Sports R/A to the west of Khalid Bin Abdullah Al-Attiyah roundabout (New Rayyan roundabout).
As with phase one, this area will also be transformed into an eight-lane expressway, with four lanes in each directions separated by a central median.
In addition, 5.4km of side and service roads will be revamped as part of this phase.
Six main junctions will also be constructed – the Al Massila interchange, the Al Rayyan interchange, the Bin Zaben interchange, the Khalid bin Abdullah al-Attiyah interchange at Al Rayyan Road, the Old Rayyan interchange at Huwar Street (Furosiya) and the Lebdii interchange at Bu Erayyen road.
Work on this phase is expected to end in the third quarter of 2017.
Both phases will include major micro tunneling work, sewage effluent networks, and upgrades to existing electrical and telecommunication networks.
Ashghal also announced additional details about the Al Rayyan project, saying a fourth phase will cover a 1.5km stretch of road from Jasim Bin Mohammed Street to the Old Diwan intersection on Al Rayyan.
It didn’t state any timeline for this phase, but once done, the road will connect several commercial areas in Downtown Doha, like Souq Waqif and the upcoming Msheireb Downtown Doha project.
Thoughts?
