In coincidence with Qatar National Day, the Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ announces that it will open sections of Al Wakra Main Road and a strategic link road between Doha Expressway, the Southern Part of Doha Express Highway, the E Ring Road, the F Ring Road and the G Ring Road as well as most parts of Al Watiyyat Interchange on the F Ring Road, on Tuesday, 18 December 2018.
The opening event was attended by Highway Project Department Assistant Manager Eng. Bader Darwish, Ministy of Transport and Communication Road Assets Department Manager Eng Hamad Eissa, Al Wakra Municipality Directo Mansour Bu Al Ainayn, and Central Muncipality Council member Mansour Al Khater, General Directoarate of Traffic Lieutenant-in-second Youssef Al Bader along with officials from Ashghal and the two project engineers.
First Milestone on Al Wakra Main Road Project
On this occasion, Engineer Bader Darweesh has said that the opening of 3.5 kilometres of main carriageway will deliver three (3) lanes in each direction and a 126 meter underpass with two (2) lanes in each direction, extending from Barwa Village east Airport Interchange on the G Ring Road to the existing Pearl Roundabout.
The delivery of the upgraded road will provide free-flow traffic movement between Mesaieed and Al Wakra City and the Doha (via Airport Interchange), seamless travel along the main carriageway and easy access to local destinations via efficient traffic movements at the junctions.
The Upgrade of Al Wakra Main Road
In May 2018, the Public Works Authority launched construction works to upgrade 9 kilometres of Al Wakra Main Road. The project will deliver three (3) lanes in each direction including an underpass that will span between Al Wakra City and Doha. As with many other projects on Ashghal’s Expressway Programme, the project will also deliver 6.1 kilometres of pedestrian and cycle paths to encourage healthy lifestyles and wellbeing.
Upon full completion of the project in Q2 2020 Ashghal anticipates that the upgraded 9 kilometres road that will strategically connect Al Wakra to Doha via Airport Interchange (G Ring Road), will significantly enhance the travel experience of road users in the area.
Travel time from Al Matar Street up until Pearl Roundabout will be reduced by approximately 50 % due to increased lane capacity to accommodate up to 600 vehicles per hour and free-flow traffic movements. The replacement of existing roundabouts with signalised junctions will contribute towards increasing road safety and improving efficiency of traffic movements.
Interface with Qatar Rail metro stations:
The project’s design allows for a wide central median that will accommodate Qatar Rail’s red line metro which will connect Al Wakra to Doha with its two main stations of Ras Bu Funtas and Al Wakra.
Project Stages
Al Wakra Main Road is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2020. The construction works of the project will be achieved in three stages:
The first stage starts from Barwa village, located at the Airport Interchange in the north, to Al Wakra Road and Ras Bufentas station.. The construction works extend over 1.8 kilometres on a three-lane stretch in both directions of Al Wakra Main Road. The first stage also includes 840 metres of subways north of Al Wakra Main Road.
The project’s second stage will extend from former Al Wakra Roundabout up until Pearl Roundabout. Road works extend for approximately 1.9 kilometres. The project also includes three lanes in each direction, and a tunnel that extends for about 160 meters and is located under the main Al Wakra Qatar Rail Station.
The project’s third stage starts about 1 kilometer before, known as, Pearl Roundabout and extends up to Woqod Petrol Station located towards the city of Mesaieed. The construction includes the development of the 5.5 kilometres long road from Al Wakra Main Road and converting three main roundabouts: known as, Pearl Roundabout, Ooredoo Roundabout and Wadi Afja Roundabout in Al Jabal area to signal-controlled intersections in addition to the construction of a junction in Al Razi Street.
Serving residential and commercial areas
Al Wakra main road serves a large number of neighborhoods and residential and commercial complexes in Al Wakra and Al Wukair. It is a vital expressway project in the southern area as it will contribute at alleviating traffic movement for the commuters coming from Al Wakra and directly heading to Doha in the North and to Mesaieed in the south.
Leisure facilities
Several leisure facilities are accessible via Al Wakra Main Road including Souq Waqif Al Wakra, Al Wakra family beach, and Al Wakra Wedding Halls.
F Ring Road openings
The opening of the five (5) eastbound lanes of main carriageway will provide road users with a 3 kilometres free flow stretch linking Doha Expressway, Industrial Area Road, Rawdat Al Khail Street and E Ring Road to Al Watiyyat Interchange where they can get on F Ring Road to reach Hamad International Airport and Bu Hamour Area or continue straight towards Al Wakra or Mesaieed area without passing through Al wakra via the Southern Part of Doha Express Highway. Meanwhile, Ashghal will continue to work on the under construction westbound lanes to facilitate the access of road users coming from Al Wakra and Al Wukair towards Doha via the newly availed road.
The other section of Al Watiyyat Interchange that will be open for public use is a 1.25 kilometres ramp bridge that will accommodate traffic coming north of Al Watiyyat Interchange and heading towards the Hamad International Airport through eastbound carriageway of the F Ring Road.
The project will also deliver a 700 metres free right turn providing connectivity to Bu Hamour Area through the westbound carriageway of the F Ring Road.
A few months ago, Ashghal opened sections of Al Watiyyat Interchange to connect the F Ring Road with the G Ring Road and the Southern Part of Doha Express Highway. Westbound traffic on the F Ring Road wishing to go south, can use the opened loop bridge and one and a half kilometre stretch to reach Umm Besher Interchange and continue east or west of the G Ring Road or south on the Southern Part of Doha Express Highway towards Al Wakra and Al Wukair.
Ashghal also opened 3 kilometres of service roads along the F Ring Road.
The newly availed sections of Al Watiyyat Interchange located on the F Ring Road, will form a vital connection between the main Doha Expressway and the Southern Part of Doha Express Highway as well as deliver access to FIFA 2022 Al Thumama Stadium. Furthermore, it will provide a strategic link between major ring roads and expressways in the country, namely the E Ring Road, the F Ring Road, the G Ring Road, the Doha Expressway, the Southern Part of Doha Express Highway, the Industrial Area Road and Rawdat Al Khail Street. This will significantly reduce the travel time by 40 to 60%.
Road users will benefit from an efficient and further enhanced connectivity and smooth traffic coming from the North via Doha Expressway and heading to southern areas through the Southern Part of Doha Express Highway or to the Hamad International Airport and Bu Hamour area via the F Ring Road.
Benefits of Al Watiyyat Interchange
Upon completion, Al Watiyyat Interchange will facilitate the commute between the FIFA 2022 Al Wakra, Ras Bu Aboud and Al Thumama Stadiums allowing fans to attend the games and reach the three (3) stadiums in a record time.
Al Watiyyat Interchange is part of the infrastructure preparations for the World Cup which Ashghal has been gearing up for delivering ahead of the event. This interchange will primarily serve Al Thumama stadium as it will provide pedestrian and cyclists with two (2) bridges and six (6) underpasses for safe access to the stadium.
It is also worth mentioning that the opened sections of Al Watiyyat Interchange were opened more than six (6) months ahead of schedule, while the full interchange will be completed in the first quarter of 2019, whilst the beneficial use of it will be on hold until the opening of the newly constructed interchange of the E Ring Road project at 2020.
This key interchange will also be a strategic link connecting the Southern Part of Doha Express Highway with the main Doha Expressway and 22 February Street. It will provide connectivity between northern and southern areas in the country via Doha.
The interchange is a two-level interchange composed of three (3) main bridges and four (4) vehicular underpasses which will serve many surrounding residential areas such as Al Thumama, Mesaimeer, Bu Hamour, Nuaija as well as Al Wakra and Al Wukair. It will further enhance the traffic there and provide direct free flow access to the Hamad International Airport, the southern areas and the northern ones through Doha.
Significant traffic time reduction that goes up until 60% will be delivered by Al Watiyyat Interchange that will alleviate traffic on the adjacent local roads such as Al Najma Street, Airport Road and Al Wakra Main Road.