Mega tunnel project to partially open in June

The Middle East’s longest traffic tunnel currently under construction in Abu Dhabi city will be partially opened to traffic in June before it becomes fully operational at the end of the year, an official said on Sunday.

The Salam street tunnel had been due to be completed at the end of 2010 but was delayed because of technical and topographical reasons, said Ahmed Al Housani, a spokesman for the Abu Dhabi Municipality which is carrying out the Dh-five-billion project on the capital’s eastern flank.

“The cost of the project is still the same despite persistent changes in construction expenses over the past three years,” he told Emirates 24/7 at the Citiscape show which opened in the capital on Monday.

“Parts of the tunnel will be opened in June but the project will be filly commissioned at the end of the year…there has been some delays but this is normal in such big projects every where.”

Housani cited such factors as a large network of power and water cables and pipes, which he 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.”

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.

The project has severely disrupted traffic and caused massive road bottlenecks on 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.

“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 road system efficiency in Abu Dhabi,” the Municipality said in a statement at Citiscape show on Sunday.

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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