By Zia Khan/Staff Reporter
The authorities are said to be considering building seven flyovers on C Ring Road to ease traffic congestion on one of the city’s arterial roads in a major development project dubbed vital to make Doha a more livable place. |
Sources in the construction industry told Gulf Times yesterday that the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) might initiate the tendering process within a couple of months.
“We have heard it is going to happen and waiting to bid for it,” said an official of one of the companies executing a road project in the city.
The C Ring Road is part of a network of circular highways built some years ago around Doha to link the western commercial district with most of residential areas.
The idea was to ensure the flow of traffic remains smooth especially during peak hours when people go to offices early in the morning and return home in the afternoon.
However, with the rising population, ring roads are fast losing their viability because they do not have underpasses or flyovers, and jams have become common at traffic signals on these highways.
What makes the situation worse during peak traffic hours is the lack of synchronisation among the signals.
Industry sources said that the building of flyovers on C Ring Road is the first major step towards solving traffic problems of the city and the model is likely to be expanded to other highways in phases.
The project is part of more than $100bn infrastructure development scheme that Qatar plans to undertake in the coming years as part of preparations for hosting the football World Cup in 2022.
Already in March this year, as many as four underpasses were opened on the Salwa Road, which horizontally cuts through all the ring roads.
Traffic congestion, one of the problems in Qatar, is likely to get worse in the near future when almost 500,000 more expats are expected to flock to the country for jobs mainly in construction and services sectors.
The vehicle density in the country is one of the highest in the region.
Industry experts said that building flyovers and underpasses to replace the old-fashioned roundabouts is one way much of traffic mess can be handled.
There was no official word of confirmation from Ashghal about the plan.