Many residents returning to Qatar after a summer holiday abroad will find their usual route to work or school disrupted by the dozens of roadwork projects underway in and around Doha.

Several new diversions and lane closures were put in place late last month, just ahead of the start of the new school year – typically one of the busiest times on the country’s roads as commuters adjust to a new schedule.

The Traffic Department is planning to step up patrols around schools and roadwork projects in an effort to reduce congestion, according to the Qatar Tribune in addition to installing “smart” traffic lights at intersections so red and green signals are timed according to vehicle volumes.

But with more cars and SUVs expected on the road in the coming days, here are some construction projects to watch out for:

Partial road closures in Al Najma

Ongoing upgrades to the sewage network in Al Najma is bringing about more lane and intersection closures.

Until Oct. 10, a 355-meter stretch of Al Mansoura Street, stretching from before the intersection with Al Kharaib Street to past the intersection with Al Bunduqiya Street, will be shut down. By banning on-street parking, one lane of traffic will remain open in both directions.

Additionally, Al Kharaib Street will be closed at the intersection with Al Mansoura Street.

Dukhan Highway East

Al Afaf Street, leading north off the Bani Hajer Roundabout at the eastern edge of Education City, will be closed for the next 2.5 years – the latest in a series of closures in the area to make way for construction of the Dukhan Highway East project.

Motorists driving on Al Luqta Street heading from Doha towards Dukhan can skip the Bani Hajer Roundabout and continue driving until Al Ghawth Street, where they can make a right turn to enter the neighborhood of Bani Hajer.

Al Rayyan Road lane closures

The inner lanes in both directions of Al Rayyan Road, just west of the interchange with the Doha Expressway, will be closed until late November or early December as part of upgrades to the busy road.

The closure runs for approximately 350 meters and will allow construction crews to build a new bridge linking Al Rayyan Road to the Expressway. Traffic will be diverted to the right-hand lanes during the closure.

Local roads shut around Al Wakrah Hospital

Construction crews installing new sewer lines in the growing Al Wakrah community are closing off three local roads at their intersection with Al Wakrah Hospital Street until February 2016.

The closed roads are located at the first (Street 1083), second (Street 1064) and fourth (Street 1003) exit to the west side of Al Wakrah Hospital Street.

The local road closures are on top of the lane reductions already in place.

One lane on Al Wakrah Hospital Street, between the southern edge of the medical center and the New Al Meera Roundabout, has been closed since May. Motorists in either direction can use the two remaining lanes.

However, Al Wakrah Hospital Street is closed to northbound traffic between the Al Wakrah Hospital Roundabout and the Al Wukair Road Roundabout. That’s forced northbound drivers on Al Wakrah Hospital Street headed towards Doha to turn right onto Al Andalus Street and then turning right again at the end of the street onto Abdul Rahman Bin Jassim Street before making a U-turn at Al Jabal Roundabout.

Al Shamal lane closures

North of Doha, just before Ikea, one lane of the Al Shamal Road in either direction will be closed around the Al Kheesa Bridge at Al Kheesa Interchange until mid-September in order to complete construction of a flyover.

How have you changed your commute? Thoughts?