Busy junction on Airport Road to partially close as sewage upgrades continue

Head’s up, motorists in Najma – there are six weeks of road closures and diversions coming your way at a key intersection on Airport Road.

The detours come as Ashghal continues to work on upgrading the underground sewage network. It will close the junction of Airport Road (Al Matar St.) and Al Mansoura St. on Monday, Feb. 29 in two stages.

In addition to affecting Airport Road traffic, which will be diverted for three weeks, motorists on Al Mansoura St. will face six weeks of diversions while the aging pipelines in the busy district undergo reconstruction, the public works authority said in a statement.

During this time, the left turn from Al Mansoura St. onto Airport Road will be closed. Instead, drivers will need to turn right onto Najma Intersection (Toyota signal) and make a U-turn onto Airport Road.

Meanwhile, the left turn from Airport Road onto Al Mansoura Street will also be closed. Traffic will be diverted to Al Doha Al Jadeeda intersection (Crazy Signal), required to make a U-turn onto Airport Road, then turn right onto Al Mansoura St.

Additionally, eastbound lanes on Airport Road, leading from the Al Doha Al Jadeeda Intersection toward Najma Intersection, will be reduced from three to two lanes near Al Mansoura junction, and will return back to three lanes after the intersection. The westbound three lanes on Airport Road will continue to operate as normal.

Al Mansoura St. will remain open with one lane in each direction, but during the diversions the existing on-street parking on Al Mansoura St. will be restricted for 300m from the intersection, Ashghal said.

Sewage upgrade

The outdated sewage network in the area has been undergoing an ovehaul in stages for the last 18 months, after residents complained that the drainage system in the neighborhood frequently backed up with sewage.

Ashghal said that the older system was built for a much smaller population and that it was insufficient to handle the needs of the large number of new residents in the area.

The project includes the replacement of over 20km of pipelines, 500 sewer manholes and 1,000 house and commercial connections.

It covers southern Doha, bordered by B-Ring Road in the north, C-Ring Road in the south, Airport Road in the east and Najma Street in the west.

Once completed, the new drainage system is expected to last the area some 50 years, Ashghal said. It will also feature efficient, environmentally friendly pump stations with fewer emissions.

Thoughts?