Motorists heading to the Wholesale Market and the residential districts of Abu Hamour, Ain Khalid and Al Thumama should expect delays over the coming four weekends.

According to Ashghal, a busy stretch of Wholesale Market Street will be temporarily closed in phases over the next month as it continues on works to build new dual carriageways to improve capacity.

The first closure takes effect at 11pm tonight and lasts until 4am on Sunday, Feb. 28. The street will be closed in both directions between the Al Jazeera Academy entrance and the Mesaimeer passport and immigration office.

The same section of the road will also be closed for the same hours over the following three weekends, Ashghal said in a statement.

This includes:

• Thursday, March 3, from 11pm until Sunday, March 6;
• Thurday, March 10 from 11pm until Sunday, March 13; and
• Thursday, March 17 from 11pm until Sunday March 20.

Diversions will be in place taking drivers along Rawdat Al Khail Street and Al Erbayyat Street, but they are likely to take additional time and motorists in the area should expect the surrounding roads to be busier while the closures are in place.

Ongoing works

The closures are to enable the construction of 8 km of new dual carriageway on Abu Hamour Road/Al Muntazah Street from East Industrial Road Interchange to Al Woqood Interchange and 2 km dual carriageway on F ring road from Woqod Interchange to Al Jazeera Interchange, an Ashghal spokesperson said.

“This project will provide important strategic connections from the Industrial Area into the centre of Doha and Barwa City, and link F-Ring Road to Wholesale Market Road and Mesaimeer Street,” the spokesperson added in a statement.

The same stretch of road was also shut for two consecutive weekends in December.

The adjoining stretch of Mesaimeer Road, from near the Pakistan Education Center to the Woqod petrol station roundabout has already been shut since mid-2013 while road connections south, towards the Religious complex, are upgraded.

The road construction is set to be completed this year, Ashghal said at the time.

To help with some of the traffic congestion in the busy area, which includes a lot of schools, a temporary steel bridge was opened over the Mesaimeer junction in October 2014.

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