+ A
A -
Hisham Aljundi
Doha
Minister of Municipality and Environment HE Mohammed bin Abdullah al Rumaihi inaugurated the Lusail Expressway along with its four bridges on Saturday.
The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) President Engineer Saad al Muhannadi, Assistant President Eng Abdullah al Attiyah, Ashghal officials and representatives of the consulting and construction companies along with the South Korean ambassador attended the event.
The opening includes the main carriageway with four lanes in each direction along the whole road from its start in West Bay area until its end at Lusail City. It also boasts of a dedicated lane for cyclists.
The interchange 5/6,which boasts of arcs considered the largest monument in Qatar with a total height of 100 metres, a width of 147 metres and weight of around 9300 tonnes of steel, was also opened on the occasion.
Eng Muhannadi told Qatar Tribune,"The opening will allow visitors to reach Lusail city, Katara and the Pearl within 25 minutes from HIA. The Lusail Expressway serves several locations. The expressway has not just eased traffic but also added to the beauty of the area."
He added,"Around one million vehicles have passed through the Pearl tunnel alone since its opening. This road will improve the quality of life and boost real estate development in the area."
Commenting on the arc, Eng Muhannadi said,"As you know this date has a special significance for Qatar when all citizens and residents doubled their efforts to keep the development in Qatar going. It symbolises the strong will of Qatar to continue development and defeat the siege."
Erik Behrens from AECOM Company, who has designed the arc, said,"It is made up of two rings that symbolise the solidarity of Qatari society whereas the white colour reflects purity."
The expressway also includes opening of all four bridges of the project, including the new Al Gassar bridge, five new tunnels at Interchange 5/6, Al Gassar Interchange and the Pearl Interchange taking the total number of open tunnels to eight.
A documentary was also played during the launch, showing the journey of the implementation of Lusail Expressway and the engineering challenges that Ashghal overcame in the process.
