The opening of new roads over the next three months will reduce congestion on Al Wakrah Street and help maximise the benefits of G-Ring and F-Ring roads in terms of the smooth distribution of traffic, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has said.
The statement came in the wake of complaints by many commuters of severe traffic congestion in and around Al Wakrah, particularly at the entry and exit point, leading to long delays.
According to reports, “lack of signage” on the newly opened G-Ring Road and the “sudden closure” of the Barwa Village signal aggravated matters in an area where people had already been coping with diversions and closures necessitated by the implementation of infrastructure development projects.
As commuters vented their frustration on social media, Ashghal tweeted yesterday morning that the diversion on Al Wakrah Road at the Abdullah Abdulghani roundabout, which started on Sunday morning, had been postponed in co-ordination with Qatar Rail and the Traffic Police.
The authority also thanked Qatar Rail and the Traffic Police for their co-operation and efforts that helped decongest the area and bring traffic back to normal on Al Wakrah Street yesterday. The diversion was scheduled to remain in effect until June 18. Traffic was rerouted to parallel side streets.
Meanwhile, Ashghal posted a series on tweets on the roads that would be opened in and around the area in the coming months.
In May, for instance, the road connecting the bridge from Najma Street Extension behind Barwa Village would open to connect Ras Abu Fontas Street coming from the Abdullah Abdulghani roundabout, Ashghal informed.
Then, the Al Wakrah Bypass would be opened in June - connecting traffic coming from Mesaieed Road with G-Ring and F-Ring roads. Further, Ashghal said the Al Wukair Bypass would be opened to traffic in July, providing a direct connection between Mesaieed Road and G-Ring Road.
Earlier, commuters launched a hashtag to express their frustration over inordinate delays in and around Wakrah due to traffic congestion.
While one motorist complained of spending around 50 minutes for a ride that usually took 10 minutes, another said the travel time between Wukair and Abu Hamour had doubled following the opening of G-Ring Road.
Another person said even F-Ring Road was ‘jam-packed’ and it was frustrating to spend so much time driving on a road that usually offered a smooth ride.
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