Doha

Several residents have voiced concern about the ongoing road works, which they fear are likely to cause traffic congestion, at various locations in and around Doha once schools reopen early next week.

"Minor works at some key locations should have been completed with the highest priority before the opening of the schools," a parent who has to drop and pick his children from school told Gulf Times.

Most residents are expected to return to Doha this week after summer vacation and the schools will re-open on September 6, though many of the road works would continue.

Generally, when the school season starts, the city and surroundings usually witnesses traffic congestion at several parts especially where educational institutes are situated.

What makes it different this year, is the ongoing road construction at several key areas of the city. Road works are in full swing at several places such as at Midmac Roundabout, Old Airport, Duhail near College of North Atlantic Qatar ( CNA-Q) and Qatar University and Rayyan among others.

The approach road from Mamoura to Midmac Roundabout was closed recently. It is the only approach road for residents of entire Mamoura and the surrounding places to get into Midmac Roundabout and beyond to the Express Highway and other areas. With the closure of the road, people have to take a long detour to reach Salwa Road and the Midmac Roundabout which is a chock-a-block with vehicles all the time from that direction.

Residents feel that it will be a Herculean task for them to negotiate the roads once the schools are open. “Already the road to Midmac is very crowded in the peak hours and it takes a long time to cross the signal. Now with the road is closed, I fear that Midmac Roundabout will simply be chaotic,” another resident said.

The road from Midmac Roundabout to Mamoura that was under construction, was opened a few days before. And the work took about two months even though a 45-day schedule had been announced earlier.

A long-time Doha resident was of the view that minor work at such key locations ought to be carried out during lean periods. “When the roadwork on the opposite side of the road was done, they should have included this stretch too so that it could have been completed by now. If the same duration is needed for this road, it is going to be a big problem from next week.”

Similarly, the construction at some of the interior roads in the Old Airport Area will create a lot of difficulties for the motorists and the residents. Generally the Old Airport area is a major bottleneck for the motorists and even yesterday, it took about 40 minutes for the Gulf Times team to negotiate through the main road.

The area around Airport Health Centre is the most affected. It is a highly populated area and even during lean periods there is heavy traffic on these roads. The road connecting the health centre to Old Airport road is a very busy one frequented by Karwa buses too. Now that it has been converted into a narrow single lane, people are having hard time to reach their destinations through different detours.

“With ongoing works on several interior roads, it is already a difficult time for the people living in the area,” said a resident. “Several pocket roads in this area are already closed. This makes the traffic already worse. Now that the schools will be open after a week, it is going to be horrible for us in the coming weeks and months.”

Another ongoing roadwork is at the CNA-Q Roundabout which is to be changed into an intersection. Already long queues can be seen at the roundabout in the peak hours and with Qatar University and CNA-Q opening for thousands of students soon, it is going to be torturous, many motorists fear.

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