A delegation from the Central Municipal Council (CMC) on Wednesday visited some sites of the Lusail Expressway project, being implemented by the Public Works Authority.
The delegation consisted of the CMC vice-chairman and Public Utilities Committee head Hamad Lahdan al-Muhannadi, committee member Nasser Rashed al-Muhannadi, Meetings and Members Affairs assistant manager Abdulrahman al-Khulaifi and another member Nasser al-Kubaisi.
The delegation was accompanied by Ashghal’s Expressway Department manager Nasser Gaith al-Kuwari and Public Relations and Communication Department acting manager Mohamed Saad al-Meghaiseeb and officials of the consulting and contracting companies.
The delegation visited sites including intersections at The Pearl-Qatar, Onaiza and Al Wahda. The CMC members were briefed on the project and the progress being made. The engineering and construction strategies adopted to guarantee the timely completion of the project were also explained.
CMC officials visiting Al Wahda interchange site
The delegation was informed about the components and features of these intersections and the progress in their implementation besides the works being implemented such as excavation and structural works in The Pearl-Qatar intersection including the deck and walls of three of its tunnels, the Light Rail Transit (LRT), and the North and South Canal Crossings.
Lusail Expressway project is one of the most important road projects being implemented under Ashghal’s Expressway Programme. It aims to reconstruct and upgrade the existing Lusail Road from the south of the Arch Roundabout to the North Canal Crossing, providing a vital link between Doha and Lusail City through an advanced network of tunnels, interchanges and bridges.
The project includes three major multilevel interchanges namely Al Wahda, Onaiza, and The Pearl-Qatar. It consists of roads leading to The Pearl-Qatar, Katara Cultural Village, Lusail City, the Diplomatic Area and the commercial and residential neighbourhoods.
The 5.3km Lusail Expressway has four lanes in each direction as well as additional lanes to ease the traffic flow between the interchanges. The project also includes the construction of about 3km of infrastructure tunnels with internal diameters of approximately 3m to accommodate electricity cables of 132kv, and more than one km of infrastructure tunnels with internal diameter of 2.5m to drain the surface water.
One of the most important advantages of these tunnels is that they allow the construction of infrastructure services under the roads level and the other existing services without traditional methods of deep excavation and refilling, and without changing the location of the existing roads and services. The tunnels also provide an easy and quick access to the services inside the tunnels when maintenance works are required.
Work in progress on North Canal Crossing
The works implemented so far includes the completion of most of the LRT works, which will be 1,106m in length, 9.5m in width, and 5.5m in height. Around half of the works associated with the North Canal Crossing are completed while excavation and refilling works for the dam of the North Canal Crossing are under way.
In addition, a large part of the South Canal Crossing works is completed, including the demolishing of the existing northern part of the canal. Currently, construction of the piers and supports is under way for the bridge which will be built in the same area.
A large part of the infrastructure facilities is completed including the networks for drinking water, storm water drainage, sewage water drainage, waste water treatment networks and the extension of the electricity and communication cables.
Currently, Al Wahda Interchange is being converted into a three-level interchange including a tunnel with three lanes in each direction to connect Al Dafna area with Lusail in addition to an upper bridge with three lanes in each direction to connect with Lusail Expressway with the city.
The works of Onaiza Interchange are also going on which include three tunnels and a bridge. The deck of one of these tunnels is being constructed while excavation and refilling works are implemented on the other two tunnels. The bridge piers are being constructed.
The site visit reflects the CMC’s keenness to follow the progress of the implementation works in the major projects such as the Lusail Expressway, and their implementation according to the plans and schedules.
Ashghal Expressway project engineer Nasser Gaith al-Kuwari briefs CMC officials about the features of the Lusail Expressway project.
