Muscat Expressway expansion work to start in summer: Minister

Muscat: The Muscat Expressway Expansion project has been awarded, and the contract will start the actual work in the summer months of July or August, according to the Minister of Transport and Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), who said in an interview with the private radio.

Eng. Said bin Hamoud Al Maawali, the Minister,  told Al Wisal that the work that may require traffic diversions will be carried out outside of peak hours to limit the impact on road users. Work will be carried out between 5 pm and 5 am.

The key feature of the Muscat Expressway Expansion project includes converting the Qurum Natural Park roundabout and the Saih Al Malih roundabout into signalized intersections. This is in addition to developing and expanding the road from the Saih Al Malih roundabout to the Halban intersection and linking it with the Al Batinah Expressway. Most entrances and exits of existing bridges will get additional lanes in each direction, and there will be a direct exit on the Rusayl bridge for those coming from Muscat towards the Burj Al Sahwa roundabout.

The Al Qurm Roundabout near the park and the roundabout after it towards the Crowne Plaza Hotel will be replaced with traffic lights, in addition to the implementation of separate exits for traffic heading towards the Mina Al Fahal refinery.

The project has been designed to ease the current congestion and to meet the traffic density growth until 2045 at the earliest.

The project also includes the construction of independent two-lane flyovers for those coming from the Ruwi area towards the Muscat Expressway, and at the Al Khoud 6th area signals for those heading from the Muscat Expressway to the Book Roundabout, as well as for those coming from A’Dakhiliyah Governorate heading toward Sohar without intersecting with those heading from the Muscat Expressway toward A’Dakhiliyah Governorate.