The re-opening of Salwa Road following an ambitious redevelopment project has been pushed back again, until at least September of this year, according to a senior official.

Phase 7 of the $4.1 billion, 13-part Doha Expressway project entails expanding the 6.9km of road from Al Asiri Interchance (Midmac Roundabout) to Industrial Interchange, and was supposed to be completed last month.

The $436.7 million phase was then postponed to the middle of this year, with delays being attributed to the scale of the project and previously, the intense summer heat. 

Tunnel art

Now, speaking to reporters yesterday, Ashghal president Nasser Ali Al Mawlawi said that phase of the project will be completed by the third quarter of 2013. However, he added that the Ain Khalid Underpass will partly open to traffic by this weekend, in part to facilitate the artwork of French-Tunisian graffiti artist eL Seed, who is painting murals on the tunnels along Salwa.

Salwa Road has been a nightmare for motorists and shop owners since construction began in July of 2010. But according to Gulf Times, things should look like brighter by September:

The mainline will feature eight lanes, four lanes in each direction separated by a median with continuous service roads. There will be four two-level interchanges along this section with the mainline of Salwa Road placed as an underpass beneath the crossroads to allow free flowing mainline traffic. The project will provide a strategic corridor between the centre of Doha and the Saudi Arabian border.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Public Art (QMA)