Wahda Relief

Labourers work on the flying saucer roundabout.

The major infrastructure project that is Al Wahda Street is set to be fully opened this time next year, much to the delight of Sharjah residents and commuters. But the journey to this stage in the project has not been taken without facing a few bumps in the road, as consultant Halcrow explains.

Al Wahda Street is classed the main artery that runs through Sharjah, heading off towards the emirate. Last year this vital corridor, from Al Falah Plaza to Cultural Square, was closed to traffic so that construction of one of the biggest road projects the city has seen could begin.

It comes as no surprise that the closure has caused a hot topic of discussion among Sharjah residents and those traveling in and out of the city.

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But, as any project goes, there has to be a little disruption before there can be construction. And, according to Halcrow, the developer on the project, Al Wahda Street was in much need of a revamp.

“Traffic was heavy before and there were temporary bridges over all junctions that were put in place in the 1980’s,” says Halcrow chief resident engineer Steve Hodgkins.
 

“These bridges just couldn’t cope with the sheer volume of traffic so they had to be replaced with proper designed junctions. Obviously it has taken a long time for the design to be prepared and implemented in the fashion that it has.”

The entire project involves the redevelopment of 6km-long road consisting of four major interchanges - Cultural Square, Flying Saucer roundabout, Yarmouk junction and Abu Shagara.

The project is due to be fully completed in September, 2010.

Last month, the two former interchanges were opened to the public six days ahead of schedule.

The cultural square interchange now consists of an underpass along Al Wahda Street, passing below cultural square roundabout and leading traffic to and from Sheikh Mohammed bin Saqr Al Qassimi Road.

The ramp portion of the tunnel is around 500m-long on either side with a closed tunnel of length around 175m, while the interchange at the flying saucer junction is grade-separated with a viaduct around 550m-long and an at-grade signalised junction.