Mideast’s longest tunnel to open this year

The Middle East’s longest traffic tunnel currently under construction in Abu Dhabi city will be ready for official inauguration at the end of 2011, nearly a year behind schedule because of technical and topographical obstacles.

More than 90 per cent of the Dh5 billion Al Salam tunnel venture has been completed since it was launched more than three years ago as one of the largest road construction projects ever to be carried out in the UAE.

“The project will be completed before the end of 2011 and it will be open for traffic in both directions,” the semi official daily Alittihad said, quoting sources at the Abu Dhabi Municipality, which is overseeing the project.

It said several partial roads had already been opened for traffic inside the capital and streets leading to its outskirts towards the northern emirates.

“Some obstacles and difficulties have faced the project and that is why there is a delay in its inauguration,” one source said. “These include technical problems and topographical and geographical obstacles which are normal given the fact that is a huge project and delays have to be expected.”

According to a municipality statement, the road could have a capacity of 12,000 moving cars per hour in both directions once it becomes fully operational.

Officials cited such hurdles as a large network of power and water cables and pipes, which they said had to be avoided during the construction process.

“Another factor is that the tunnel passes under a densely populated area…this means it is being constructed in a difficult topographical environment….but a large part of the project has already been finished and it will be ready by the end of the year…it will largely ease traffic congestion in the city,” an official said.

South Korea’s Samsung Construction is carrying out the project, which will also link the mainland to the nearby Reem Island, where at least 100,000 inhabitants will live. The causeway to the island has already been completed.

More than 2,000 workers have been involved in the construction of the three-km tunnel, which starts from the eastern entrance of Abu Dhabi city and runs under Alsalam street towards Port Zayed on the western tip of the capital.

Around two kilometres of the tunnel would be embedded nearly 15 metres underground while the rest would be open and near the surface level.

Officials said the tunnel is part of a long-term blueprint by Abu Dhabi to expand its inhabited areas and road networks to cope with a sharp rise in the population, which officials expect to nearly triple in the next 20 years.

“The project is vital for the Capital’s development plans in the long term as it is intended to cope with the expected large increase in the population and traffic,” said Jumma Al Junaibi, the Municipality’s Director General.

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