Work has begun on the first phase of the BD7.4-million ($19.5 million) Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway ring road project in Bahrain which is aimed at helping reduce traffic heading from Hamad Town.

The project involves creation of a two-direction 280-km-long flyover with two lanes on each direction. The new 24.2-m wide flyover is to pass over Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway, said a statement from the Bahrain's Ministry of Works.

The new intersection will link all access points in Hamad Town to the main roads network in the kingdom, it stated.

The first phase of the project has been awarded to a consortium of Al Yamama Company and Nass Contracting from Saudi Arabia, which has begun work on the second intersection along Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway and the highway linking Roundabouts 13 and 18 in Hamad Town.

The work also includes constructing a 1.5-m-long two-way road with two lanes on each direction.

"This will alleviate traffic congestion along Sheikh Hamad Highway and other internal roads in Hamad Town," said Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf, the Minister of Works.

Presently, 3,500 vehicles ply every hour along the intersection parallel to Roundabout 14 during the peak time, he stated.

This access point is the second main entrance to Hamad Town from Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway. Traffic along Sheikh Hamad highway, the part located between Roundabout 18 and Zallaq, is estimated to be 25,000 vehicles each day.

"Once the project is completed, the traffic congestion will be down by 28 per cent," he added..-TradeArabia News Service