All photos courtesy of Ashghal

Commuters tired of all the construction stretching from West Bay to beyond the Pearl-Qatar, take heart – progress is being made on the new Lusail Expressway.

In a meeting with Central Municipal Council members this week, Ashghal offered an update on one of Qatar’s key infrastructure projects.

When completed in the middle of next year, the QR3.5billion development will link Doha’s business district with the new city of Lusail through an extensive overhaul of the old Al Istiqlal Road.

The new 5.3km route will have four lanes in each direction, with additional turn lanes and three multi-level intersections at the Pearl, Onaiza and Al Wahda.

Roads leading to the Pearl, Katara Cultural Village, Lusail City, the diplomatic area and the neighboring commercial and residential areas will also be rebuilt as part of the program of works.

What’s happened

Work on the expressway began in 2012.

So far, most of the Light Rail Transit system has been completed, while half of the construction of the North Canal Crossing by Zig Zag towers and the new Mondrian Hotel is done, Ashghal said in a statement, adding: “excavation and refilling works for the dam of the North Canal Crossing are underway.”

The authority did not put any figures on the state of progress, but added that “a large part” of the works to the South Canal crossing is already been done, including demolishing of the existing northern part of the Canal.

“Currently, construction of the piers and the supports is underway for the bridge which will be built in the same area. A large part of the infrastructure facilities is completed including the drinking water network, stormwater drainage network, sewage water drainage network, wastewater treatment networks, as well as the extension of the electricity and communication cables,” it added.

Meanwhile, construction at Al Wahda intersection, which will connect Dafna/West Bay with the main expressway, is also continuing.

Once complete, the three-level junction will include a tunnel with three lanes in each direction to connect Al Dafna area with Lusail, as well as a bridge with three lanes in each direction.

Construction of one of the three tunnels at the interchange is currently underway, while excavation and refilling is being undertaken on the other two tunnels while the bridge piers are being constructed, Ashghal said.

Last March, Eversendai Qatar announced it won a QR263 million contract for the construction of the two Al Wahda arches, described as being the main artscape features on the route.

This will include a visitors’ center suspended 40 meters in the air through a system of hangars and cross-bracing cables from the arches.

It will be accessed by a cable car and the entire project is scheduled to be complete by June 2016, Eversendai previously said.

To make way for the new intersection, the landmark Rainbow (arch) roundabout was dismantled in late 2013.

The Lusail Expressway is one of the main projects in Ashghal’s national expressway program, to improve the quality and capacity on Qatar’s artery routes.

In addition to the roads and junctions, there will be 3km of tunnels for electricity cables and more than 1km of tunnels to remove surface water.

“These tunnels will also provide an easy and quick access to the services inside the tunnels when maintenance works are required,” Ashghal added.

Thoughts?