A new set of diversions will take effect on Lusail St., south of Lagoona Mall, this Thursday, March 24, and will remain in place for nearly two years during construction of the Lusail Expressway, Ashghal has announced.

There will likely be some delays as two sections of the existing road will be shut during the works, which will continue until December 2017.

A 300m stretch of the two-lane dual carriageway heading from Legtaifiya (West Bay Lagoon) to the South Canal Crossing will be closed in both directions, the public works authority said.

Southbound traffic (heading towards central Doha) will be diverted to a temporary one-way road that has been constructed just east of the closed road.

Meanwhile, northbound traffic heading in the direction of Lagoona Mall, will be diverted onto Lagoona Street via a new roundabout.

A 150m length of the four-lane dual carriageway from the signaled junction at Lusail Street to Lagoona Mall will also be shut.

Traffic will instead be diverted to a two-lane, one-way road leading to a new roundabout in front of the Lagoona Mall, Ashghal added in a statement.

New expressway

Lusail Street has undergone numerous temporary diversions, partial closures and reconfigurations since construction on the new QR3.5 billion expressway began in late 2012.

The creation of new roundabouts and routes from Katara toward the Pearl, Lagoona Mall and West Bay Lagoon have contributed to significant congestion on the route, particularly during peak hours and on weekends.

“The closure is required to complete construction works of key parts of the Lusail Expressway, in addition to expanding the Lusail Expressway from 4 to 12 lanes including 8 lanes being part of a tunnel,” Ashghal said.

Expected to be finished by summer next year, the new 5.3km route will include three multi-level intersections at the Pearl, Onaiza and Al Wahda and should shorten journey times between Dafna/West Bay and the new, under-construction city of Lusail.

The Lusail Expressway is one of the main projects in Ashghal’s national expressway program, designed 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, Ashghal said last month in a progress report on the construction.

Will the new diversions affect your commute? Thoughts?