All roads of Dukhan Highway Central Project now open

The entire road networks coming under the Dukhan Highway Central Project has been completed and the roads are open, Ashghal announced.

The opening of the Expressway marks a major milestone in the construction of the improved Doha – Dukhan corridor, a regional road network that will enhance travel efficiency between the country's eastern and western areas.

Ashghal recently opened a 1.4km loop ramp from Al Rufaa Street (South) towards Dukhan, a 1.5km loop ramp from Al Rufaa Street towards Doha, an 800m link from Al Rufaa Street towards Dukhan and a 480m tunnel that directly connects local roads near Mall of Qatar to the Doha-bound carriageway on the Dukhan Highway.

Extending from the Al Wajba area to Al Sheehaniya, the Dukhan Highway Central project has now delivered approximately 19km of new and enhanced road on the existing Dukhan Highway and Al Rufaa Street.

The new expressway is providing the road users with four lanes in each direction, doubling the former road’s vehicle capacity from 4,000 to 8,000 vehicles per hour while also replacing the existing roundabouts with three free-flowing interchanges.

The three interchanges – Al Jahaniya Interchange, Al Dehailiyat Interchange and Al Wajba Interchange – have been designed to absorb current and future traffic volumes while also improving accessibility into local government, commercial and residential developments.

The project’s main interchange, Al Jahaniya Interchange, is a four level junction that consists of six flyovers and bridges, an underpass, two tunnels and multiple utility culverts.

The interchange provides seamless, free-flowing movement on all directions between Al Rufaa Street and the Dukhan Highway, and directly catering to traffic entering and exiting the Mall of Qatar, Al Rufaa Celebration Halls and in the future, the under construction World Cup Stadium in Al Rayyan.

Ashghal has also enhanced driver safety on the project by installing more than 27km of guard rails and an additional 586 street lights, as well as sophisticated Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) including dynamic message signs, speed cameras, licence plate readers, flood detection systems and emergency telephones.

The project has also delivered major infrastructure upgrades for utilities networks in the area, including 110 kilometres of cable ducts for telecommunications, water, drainage and sewage systems.

The Dukhan Highway Central project is directly connecting with the other projects on Ashghal’s Expressway Programme, including the Dukhan Highway East (Khalifa Avenue) project and the New Orbital Highway and Truck Route.

Through the Dukhan Highway East project, the Dukhan Highway Central project is linked to phase one and two of the Al Rayyan Road Upgrade, which all form part of the Doha – Dukhan Corridor. The full corridor is expected to be open for public use in 2018.

The intersection of the Dukhan Highway and New Orbital Highway will enable road users to easily transfer between both major highways through a new multi-level interchange, providing greater connectivity towards Al Shamal Road and Salwa Road.

The interchange is expected to be fully functional by the end of 2017.