Gulf Construction Online - Region’s longest tunnel to open

UAE Focus

Region’s longest tunnel to open

01 July 2011

ABU Dhabi authorities are pushing ahead with the Middle East’s longest traffic tunnel, which is set to be inaugurated on schedule before the end of this year, the semi-official daily Al Ittihad has said.

Nearly 80 per cent of the Dh5 billion ($1.36 billion) venture, one of the largest construction contracts in the region, has been completed and the tunnel and its adjoining roads and causeways will become fully operational by the end of 2011.

Quoting officials at the Abu Dhabi municipality, which oversees Al Salam tunnel project, the newspaper said most parts of the tunnel had already been opened and are being used by vehicles.

The tunnel had been due to be completed at the end of 2010 but was delayed because of technical and topographical reasons.

Officials had earlier indicated that part of the project was expected to be open by the end of June, including causeways linking Abu Dhabi mainland to the nearby Reem Island.

According to Ahmed Al Housani, a spokesman for the Abu Dhabi Municipality, the project has been delayed by the presence of a large network of power and water cables and pipes, which he said had to be avoided during the construction process, mainly in the densely-populated Tourist Club area.

Another factor cited was that the tunnel passes under a densely populated area, which means it is being constructed in a difficult topographical environment.

South Korea’s Samsung Construction is carrying out the project, which links the Tourist Club and other parts of the city to Reem Island, which will be home to at least 100,000 inhabitants. The causeways to the island have already been completed and are being used but have yet to be officially inaugurated.

More than 2,000 workers have been involved in the construction of the 3-km tunnel, which starts from the eastern entrance of Abu Dhabi city and runs under Al Salam Street towards Port Zayed on the western tip of the capital.

Around 2 km of the tunnel would be nearly 15 m underground while the rest would be open and near the surface level. The project also includes development of road networks stretching more than 20 km on the eastern edge of the capital towards the Northern Emirates.

The project has severely disrupted traffic and caused massive road bottlenecks on Al Salam Street and the Tourist Club area in the eastern part of the capital but officials say such problems would be a matter of the past once the tunnel and accompanying flyovers are completed, according to Emirates 24/7.

“This mega tunnel project is part of the municipality’s strategic aim to meet the requirements of a developing city, as well as respond to the needs of the growing population. Furthermore, the municipality’s efforts are directed towards securing an advanced network of infrastructure and transportation facilities to achieve the highest level of traffic efficiency in Abu Dhabi,” municipality officials told the newspaper.

Officials said the tunnel is part of a long-term blueprint by Abu Dhabi to expand its urban areas and road networks to cope with a sharp rise in population.