Saturday 16 / November / 2024
Muscat: A new plan to construct and overhaul an interstate road network will affect the owners of land located near the project, officials announced.
A newly released Royal Decree, 25/2017, plans to raise capacity and efficiency of the Rusayl-Nizwa double road connection, starting from the Burj Al Sahwa tower to the Bidbid-Sur intersection.
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The project will require the expropriation of the properties affected, and compensation to landowners will be issued.
The project’s limitations have been set to 80 metres in populated areas, in order to avoid expropriation of property as much as possible, and around 160 metres in open areas to allow future development projects.
The project is divided into two parts: the first part starts with the intersection of Nizwa on the Muscat Highway, and ends with the Bidbid-Sur intersection, at a total length of 27 km.
The second part starts from the Al Sahwa Tower and ends at the intersection of Nizwa on the Muscat Highway, and is 8.5 km long. The entire project will therefore span the length of 35.5 km.
The project plans to improve the capacity of the road to match the increase in traffic, by increasing the width of the roads to four lanes in each direction.
In particular, certain bridges and intersections will be expanded or constructed in order to support the expansion of the roads.
These include the expansion of the Mawaleh intersection, the Wadi Jafnain bridge, the Fanja intersection, the Wadi Fanja bridge near the town of Amqat, the Bidbid intersection, and the expansion of pedestrian tunnels.
The project will build an intersection for the Ansab road, an intersection for Seih Al Ahmar, and a bridge at Wadi Dhab’un.
The project will also construct manhole boxes, stations for trucks in Seih Al Ahmar, and future pipelines for services.
Traffic safety
There will be full provision of all traffic safety requirements, including road lighting, metal barriers, guideline posts, and warning posts. A drainage system will also be introduced on the main road, and in the side lanes, bridges, roundabouts, entries and exits, including channels to drain rainwater. A memorandum attached to the decree details the public benefit for implementing the project.
“With the implementation of the directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the establishment of a network of modern roads will serve all aspects of activities in the Sultanate.
The Rusayl—Nizwa network is one of the primary road networks linking the governorates of Muscat, Al Dakhiliyah, Al Dhahirah, Al Sharqiyyah and Al Wusta with the Dhofar governorate.
The network extends for 35.5 km, from the roundabout of the Sahwa Tower in the Muscat Governorate till the intersection of the Bidbid- Sur road in Al Dhakhiliyah,” the Decree said.
“In view of the economic growth witnessed by the Sultanate during the last decade, there has been a significant increase in traffic that includes heavy vehicles, which results in heavy traffic congestion during the peak hours along the double road and on several intersections. There is also road paving that has been affected due to increased traffic. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has initiated and studied this project, and will add two lanes in each direction to the double road of Rusail-Nizwa.
The Decree also announced an overhaul of existing paved road layers to meet design needs and expected volume of traffic over the next 20 years.
The project will involve the construction of pedestrian tunnels and bridges to connect urban communities on both sides of the road, as well as expansion of existing bridges and pedestrian pathways.
“The project will design roads based on the latest scientific methods and technical specifications, consisting of lanes leading to intersections, and the paths of entry, exits, and roundabouts,” the Decree said.
Compensation to landowners will be in accordance with the provisions of the expropriation law for public benefit issued by Royal Decree No. 64/78.
