The Public
Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ announced the opening of a new interchange on Al Khor
Road, as part of Al Khor Expressway upgrade Project, on Tuesday, 25 June 2019.
The new
interchange is located at exit 32, three kilometers to the north of the recently
opened interchange at the intersection of Al Khor Road with Al Majd Road. The
interchange includes a bridge with two lanes in each direction, primarily
serves road users of Al Khor Road, Al Shamal and Al Majd Roads coming from Doha
and Al Khor and allowing direct connectivity to several public and sports
facilities since it delivers direct access to Lusail Sports Complex, Lusail
International Circuit, Lusail Shooting Club and Lusail Reserves.
The Project
Engineer Hassan Al Maejeba, from Ashghal Expressway department, stated that the
newly delivered interchange availed a further more efficient travel option as
prior to its opening motorists had to make a detour using the intersection of
Al Khor Road with Al Majd Road and Al Mazrooah Interchange to reach the Lusail
Sports Complex.
Mr. Khalid Al
Rumaihi, General Manager of the Lusail Circuit Sports Club highlighted the
importance of this newest addition to Al Khor Road: “This interchange
facilitates access to Lusail Circuit and provides a main and direct ingress
serving athletes and participants in the different sport disciplines offered by
the Sports Complex as well as fans. It also delivers a safe and easy connection
for motorists coming from Doha and Al Khor and using surrounding roads such as
Al Khor Road, Al Majd Road or Al Shamal Road.”
He added: “I
would like to thank the Public Works Authority for the efforts exerted to
execute this project and opening this interchange in a record time and 4 months
before the contractual date”
Ashghal has recently fully opened the
33-kilometre-long main carriageway of Al Khor Road last April, one year ahead
of schedule. The old road is upgraded to an expressway extending from Al Khor
city to Qatar University Street in Doha. The old road layout had up to two (2)
lanes in each direction, now upgraded to five (5) in each direction in addition
to two (2) emergency lanes. This expansion has increased the vehicular capacity
to accommodate approximately 10,000 vehicles per hour instead of 4000 vehicles
per hour as well as improved traffic movements and enhanced road safety.
Ashghal has also opened three vital interchanges part
of Al Khor Road project which are Simaisma Interchange, the main access to the city of Simaisma and a direct
link to Umm Qarn area, the interchange on Al Majd Road which connects to Lusail City, Rawdat Al Hamama, Al Kheesa,
Al Sakhama, Umm Slal and Al Mazrooah areas and the interchange on Al
Turfa Street which delivers a free traffic
flow movement between Lusail, Al Ebb, Leabib, Al Turfa and Izghawa.
It
is worth mentioning that Al Khor Road main carriageway serves as an alternative
to Al Shamal Road as it allows road users coming from Al Khor to reach their
desired destinations while saving travel time by up to 65% compared to the same
journey via Al Shamal Road. The new road layout has considerably upgraded the
vehicular capacity from 8000 to 20000 vehicles per hour in both directions.
Furthermore, the road is strategically
linked to major expressways such as Al Majd Road, which creates
interconnectivity with numerous major highways allowing free flow navigation
across western and southern areas of the State of Qatar. Primarily, Al Khor
Road directly serves more than 20 residential areas alongside its carriageway
in addition to a number of economic, commercial and public amenities in the
surrounding areas.
In addition to being an alternative and
parallel Road to Al Shamal Road and the main link between the north and east of
Qatar, Al Khor Road will create new demographic and urban areas alongside the
east coast of Doha extending to Al Khor and Rass Laffan. The road will become
the center of development to encourage the population of Doha to move outside
the historic city and to reconstruct the eastern areas of Qatar, so would
Lusail become the ideal city to live in. The project will open the door and
encourage for new investments in the area both in the field of business as well
as real estate and will particularly boost agriculture.
Al Khor Road is a major link to a
number of 2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums. It provides direct connection to Lusail
and Al Bayt stadiums and facilitates access to Al Rayyan and Education City
stadiums through its connection to Al Majd Road. Additionally, the new road
facilitates access to Simaisma and Al Khor Youth Centres, Al Khor Sports Club,
Lusail Sports Complex and Doha Golf Club. It also serves a number of economic and vital facilities such as Rass
Laffan, Lusail City, the Pearl and West Bay, all business and vital facilities
and hotels. Furthermore, it facilitates access to Al Daayen Services Complex
and Lusail Reserves.
The road also provides enhanced traffic flow to a number of recreational and
tourist destinations such as Katara, Simaisma Beach, Al Farkiya Beach and Al
Daayen Celebration Hall Complex as well as some of the most prestigious
educational institutions in the State of Qatar such as Qatar University,
Community College of Qatar, Qatar Leadership Academy, Doha Institute for
Graduate Studies and College of the North Atlantic.
Ashghal is
actively working on completing the remaining sections of the project, which
include the construction of 34 kilometres of an Olympic cycle track on one side
of the carriageway and 33 kilometres of shared paths for pedestrians and
cyclists on the other side, as well as the construction of 42 pedestrian and
cycle underpasses.