As it continues work on Al Rayyan Road, Qatar’s public works authority has announced the permanent closure of Bin Zaben roundabout at the junction with Bu Erayyen road.

The closure takes effect at 1am tomorrow, Nov. 6. A new three-lane, signal-controlled intersection will replace the roundabout, but will not open until around 11am.

Ashghal has thus warned motorists to use alternative routes during Friday’s morning hours.

Bu Erayyen runs north-south parallel to the Doha Expressway and is a popular route that links Al Waab with Al Rayyan and Education City.

The old route will be closed from Lekhiwaya roundabout on Bu Erayyen until Lebdaya roundabout, which connects with Al Rayyan Al Ateek St.

A new, parallel road will be opened that Ashghal said should improve capacity and reduce congestion in the area.

The new intersection and adjacent roads have been expanded from two to three lanes in each direction and will be in place until the construction of a new, multi-level intersection at the junction is created.

Al Rayyan Road

Ashghal is in the midst of a QR4.5 billion overhaul of 8.2km of Al Rayyan Road, which is one of Doha’s east-west artery routes, as part of a wider national program to upgrade major roads throughout the country.

The road will be redeveloped as an eight lane highway, with signal-controlled intersections, underpasses, flyovers and a central median. Side roads and service roads will also be revamped as part of the program.

This work is part of phase two of the project, which takes in the 5.3km stretch of road between Sports roundabout near the Women’s Hospital in the east and the New Al Rayyan roundabout in the west.

In this section, six new intersections will be created – the Al Messila interchange, the Al Rayyan 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, in addition to Bin Zaben interchange.

A further 5.4km of side and service roads will be revamped in the reconstruction of the route.

Phase 2 is expected to be finished by fall 2017, Ashghal said last year when it announced the start of the project.

Phase one – the 2.9km portion of road between the Bani Hajer Roundabout at Al Luqta Street in the west and the New Al Rayyan Roundabout at Furousiya Street and Huwar Street in the east – began in early 2014.

That upgrade is expected to be complete by fall 2016.

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