Work is progressing well on the Jasra Interchange Revamp Project in Bahrain with the first phase on track for completion by the end of this year, said a ministry official.

The Phase One of the project, which commenced in April, involves constructing a new slope to link Janabiya Highway to Sheikh Isa bin Salman Highway and revamping of the existing slopes to improve traffic flow along the highway, said a statement from the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs & Urban Planning.

The project has been awarded to Haj Hassan Group at the cost of BD429,465 ($1.12 million).

Over 1,000 vehicles ply along this busy highway during peak hours. Once the new slope gets ready, the traffic congestion i slikely to go down by 40 to 75 per cent during morning and evening peak hours, it stated.

Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs & Urban Planning Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf visited the project site to inspect the work progress.

He was accompanied by a number of senior ministry officials including the acting works affairs undersecretary Ebrahim Al Hawaj, roads assistant undersecretary Huda Fakhro, roads planning and design director Kadhim Abdul Latif and roads projects and maintenance director Sayyed Bader Alawi.

On the progress, Al Khalaf said the reclamation works for the slope connecting Janabiya Highway to Sheikh Isa bin Salman Highway has completed.

"Work is presently underway to construct and expand the side lanes along Sheikh Isa bin Salman Highway. The Ministry has also made the necessary procedures to protect the main 400kv power network to ensure that the electricity connections are not affected by works involved in the project," he stated.

Khalaf pointed out that concrete casting in the project had been done using the sliding mold technique to create the concrete barriers on the sides of the additional slope connecting Janabiya Highway to the highway without any twists in the concrete barrier.

The concrete barriers have been successfully created as per the scheme, he added.-TradeArabia News Service