Three interchanges of the under-construction 33-km Al Khor-Doha Expressway were opened partially yesterday. The major project for a new link between the northern town of Al Khor with Doha is passing through the outskirts of Lusail, Simaisma, Tinbak and Umm Garn areas.
This would considerably reduce travel time between Doha and Al Khor in future, senior Ashghal officials said yesterday at the worksite of one of the three interchanges.
They said the opened bridges are the first major milestone accomplished on Al Khor Expressway project scheduled to be complete towards the end of next year. The officials said almost 60% of the work is completed. Ashghal officials said two of the three lanes in each direction of the bridge at the Simaisma Intersection have been opened to the public to provide a free flow of traffic to road users coming from Al Shamal Road via Simaisma Road and heading towards Simaisma.
The new bridges will significantly enhance traffic movement as it will remove the old diversion and considerably reduce travel time. On the second bridge, located in the neighbourhood of Lusail, two out of the three lanes in each direction were opened to provide a direct link between Lusail and Orbital Road and Truck Route. The bridge is expected to allow road users from Al Shamal Road and the Orbital through Al Mazrooah Interchange to reach Lusail.
The third bridge, located at the interchange connecting Lusail city with Al Tarfa Road, also had two of its three lanes opened to provide new travel options for the road users from Al Shamal Road via Izghawa Interchange and the surrounding areas towards Doha and Lusail.
Speaking later at the worksite in Lusail,  Ashghal’s Highway Projects Department assistant manager Bader Darwish said their project team is working round-the-clock to ensure that these three vital bridges were fully opened to the public ahead of the schedule. He also explained the Al Khor Expressway project is one of the key arterial roads of Qatar running parallel to Al Shamal Expressway. It is  providing connectivity to several major ring roads as well as the Orbital Highway, and they are expected to provide road users with much easier access to 15 residential areas and some of the key business, leisure, service and sport areas.
At an informal meeting at the interchange in Lusail prior to the opening, Ashghal’s Infrastructure Affairs director Mohamed al-Marri, Al Khor and Al Thakhira Municipality director Mohamed Saleh al-Attan, Al Dha’ayen Municipality director Rashed Meshlesh al-Khaytarein, Central Municipal Council member Meshal al-Nuaimi, Ministry of Interior’s Traffic Safety and Engineering Department manager Brigadier Mohamed Marafiya were also present.


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