The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced that road works on converting the Sheraton and Dafna roundabouts into signal-controlled intersections will be finished and the Corniche road will be completely opened to traffic on Sunday, March 16, two weeks prior to the originally planned date.

This will be done right after laying the final asphalt layer and activating traffic lights at the two intersections.

To complete the final stages of laying asphalt, Ashghal will close the part of Corniche Street stretching from the Sheraton junction to Dafna junction, including a stretch of road between the Dafna intersection and City Center (see attached map).

Effective from 4pm today, traffic moving on Corniche Street towards the Sheraton intersection will be required to turn left on Al Funduq Street and take Omar Al Mukhtar Street and then turn right to access the Diplomatic Area.

Traffic moving from the Diplomatic Area towards the Dafna and Sheraton intersections will be required to turn right (see map) and then turn left along Omar Al Mukhtar Street to access Corniche Street via Al Funduq Street.

As part of the closure, traffic exiting the City Center parking will be required to go left (see map) and take the road ahead towards Omar Al Mukhtar Street or turn right towards the Diplomatic Area.

Traffic on Corniche Street going towards the area housing the Ministry of Justice, Doha Bank, Public Works Authority and Kahraama buildings will need to take a left from the Sheraton intersection (see map) and follow Al Funduq Street towards Omar Al Mukhtar Street and then turn right to access these locations.

In a statement, Ashghal has thanked all road users who have been tolerant with traffic congestion for the past two months. It has also expressed gratitude to the Traffic Police and Lekhwiya, who have worked relentlessly to ensure traffic flow without blocking construction and infrastructure works, as well as Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) and other government entities for their support.

This support has helped Ashghal meet its set goal of completing the works sooner than planned, the statement adds.

Due to the importance of Corniche Street as one of the most vital and dynamic arteries of Doha, Ashghal expedited the construction work by deploying around 60 machines and 600 workers around the clock. The project teams worked relentlessly to complete the project and succeeded in finishing the work two weeks ahead of schedule without the full closure of the Corniche area, according to the statement.

In addition to converting the roundabouts to signallised intersections and expanding some parts of Corniche Street, the project also included extending infrastructure utility works, including treated sewage effluent pipes on Corniche Street’s median and old roundabout locations.