The New Orbital Highway project will not only link the most important areas of economic activity in the country but also significantly cut travel time, help reduce road congestion and enhance traffic safety, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has stressed.

The project is also expected to positively impact trade movement to and from the new Hamad Port and enhance the latter’s position as a regional hub, according to a press statement from the authority.
On Monday, a link road between Hamad Port and the Truck Route was opened as part of the New Orbital Highway and Truck Route project.
The road, whose opening marked the first milestone of the project, is over 5km long and will facilitate free-flowing traffic movement in all directions without traffic lights or roundabouts up to the Truck Route.
The road provides uninterrupted transit to Hamad Port, Mesaieed, Al Wakrah and the Temporary Truck Route.“This will reflect positively on trade movement from and to the new Hamad Port, up to the Abu Samra border post through the future phases of the Orbital Highway and Salwa Road, which will enhance Hamad Port’s position as a regional hub for the movement of goods in Qatar and the Gulf in general,” the statement noted.
The opening took place in the presence of HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim bin Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti, HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi and Ashghal president Dr Saad bin Ahmad al-Muhannadi.
A number of other senior figures also participated in the opening event, including officials from the ministries of Transport and Communications and Municipality and Environment, Ashghal, CEO of Qatar Ports Management Company, General Directorate of Traffic, the Central Municipal Council representative and director of Al Wakrah Municipality.
During the site visit to the project’s sites, the ministers and attendees were briefed on the progress and planned schedule of the project.
The dignitaries lauded the execution of the project so far and expressed confidence over its timely completion.
Meanwhile, Ashghal stressed that upon completion, the New Orbital Highway project would provide fast and direct roads linking the most important areas of economic activity in the country, including Mesaieed, Hamad Port, Dukhan, Al Khor and Ras Laffan.
This will eliminate the need to pass through the main residential areas in Al Wakrah, Doha and Al Khor, which will have a positive impact on reducing traffic congestion in those areas as well as reducing air pollution, it adds.
The New Orbital Highway and Truck Route project is located to the north, west and south of Doha city and includes a total of around 195km of roads, starting from Mesaieed in the south to the west of Al Khor city in the north.
The project also includes the construction of 21 main interchanges, including tunnels and flyovers, connecting the Orbital with highways and main roads such as the East West Corridor, Salwa Road, Dukhan Highway and Al Shamal Road.
“This will significantly enhance the flow of traffic and shorten the journey times by around 50% on average, compared to the time spent on the same journey using the existing roads,” Ashghal said.
The project design includes the separation of lanes for heavy vehicles and for cars and other vehicles.
This will be done by providing five lanes for cars and light vehicles and two for heavy vehicles in each direction.“This will play an important role in enhancing traffic safety and reducing accidents through separating the movement of fast cars from that of the relatively slow vehicles, which will increase the flow of traffic and movement of goods throughout the country,” the authority further noted.
The road is designed to accommodate up to 1,500 heavy goods vehicles per hour in each direction and can cater to general traffic of approximately 8,000 vehicles per hour in each direction.
The project comprises four contracts that are being implemented simultaneously.

Next partial openings in April and July

Taking place in April, the next round of partial opening will involve Mesaieed Road and the Orbital Highway phase extending from the East West Corridor to Dukhan Highway through Salwa Road, Ashghal has said.
Then, a number of roads will be partially opened to traffic in July.
These are the Orbital Highway phase extending from Dukhan Highway to Al Gharafa Road, the phase located between Mesaieed Road and the East West Corridor, the road linking the northern entrance of Hamad Port and the Industrial Area, the road linking Dukhan Highway and Al Mazrouah Road, and the phase extending from Dukhan Highway to the West of Al Shamal Road, near Al Khor city.

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