Ashghal opens new tunnel at Al Gassar Interchange on Lusail Expressway

Ashghal, Qatar’s Public Works Authority, has thrown open a new 750M-long tunnel at the Al Gassar Interchange to the public.

The new tunnel, located on the Lusail Expressway, is expected to provide free-flowing traffic from Lusail and The Pearl-Qatar towards the Katara Cultural Village and surrounding hotels and facilities, reported Gulf Times.

The newly-opened passage offers a direct connection between Lusail Expressway and the Al Khafji Street extension. The tunnel, which has two one-way lanes inside it, can accommodate more than 3,500 vehicles per hour. A hard shoulder has also been provided to prevent any traffic disruptions inside the underground passage.

Ashghal Highway Department Manager Youssef Al Emadi, Katara General Manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, Central Municipal Council member Jassim Al Malki and several other top officials attended the opening.

Recent researches have shown that the Lusail Expressway, which was opened to traffic in December 2017, has managed to reduce journey time by more than 70%.

The road has undergone a huge capacity expansion, with approximately 8,000 vehicles per hour passing through it, via four, six and eight lanes in some sections.

Five roundabouts were also converted to three multi-level interchanges to provide free flow of traffic in all directions, reported Qatar Tribune.

The new tunnel is part of the four-level Al Gassar Interchange that consists of five tunnels and a flyover, linking traffic between Lusail Expressway and Al Khafji Street.

Lusail Expressway is one of the key projects of Ashghal’s Expressway Programme. It is located in a vital area that connects Doha with Lusail City, and covers many public destinations such as The Pearl-Qatar in the north, via Katara and the Diplomatic Area, and a big number of residential areas, hotels, malls and other facilities. 
The project work area stretches over 5.5km from Lusail City in the north to the West Bay area in the south. The project works include three main multi-level interchanges, which are the Pearl Interchange, Al Gassar Interchange and 5/6 Interchange, in addition to two bridges over the South and North Canal crossings near The Pearl-Qatar and Lusail City.