After months of construction and detours, a 3.3km stretch of the Dukhan Highway in front of Mall of Qatar has reopened to traffic this week, Ashghal announced.

The new road has four lanes in each direction and should speed up journey times between Doha and Al Shahaniyah. It will replace the previous temporary routes.

However, the public works authority has warned motorists that a 80km/h speed restriction will be temporarily in place on the new stretch of road while construction continues on neighboring routes.

Did you know that #MOQ will have a total of 26 water features? #MOQFacts #Doha #Qatar pic.twitter.com/Kndyz10YRc

— Mall of Qatar (@MALLOFQATAR) August 2, 2016

The completion of this section of the highway comes ahead of the Mall of Qatar‘s planned soft opening on Oct. 29.

Currently, many stores inside the mega-mall are already being fitted out.

This week, the mall said a branch of hypermarket Carrefour is more than 90 percent complete.

Dukhan project

Ashghal’s overhaul of Dukhan Highway Central is part of a QR1.4 billion project to develop the 15km route that connects central Doha via Al Shahaniyah to the western town which has a Qatar Petroleum base, HMC’s Cuban Hospital and Richard Serra’s East-West desert installation.

The newly opened length of road is part of a reconstruction of Al Jahhaniya interchange.

Set to be completed by the end of this year, this four-level junction will connect the highway to local residential and business properties, and Al Rayyan Stadium which will host 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ashghal said in a statement.

The whole road is expected to be finished by Spring 2018, according to its website.

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