The Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Causeway project linking Manama and Hidd in Bahrain is to be completed ahead of schedule in August.

The project, earlier set for completion in November, is being built at an estimated cost of BD33 million ($87.5 million),which includes the cost of the BD14.5 million marine bridge.

The new completion date, according to the contractors' accelerated programme, is now August 5, said Works and Housing Minister Fahmi Al Jowder.

Work on the causeway project started in August last year, after reclamation was completed at a cost of BD17 million. After the completion of the bridge, a BD1.68 million project is now under way to clear an 80-m wide, 2 km path through Mina Salman, to make way for the causeway.

New traffic lights will be installed at the dry-dock road in Hidd and the Mina Salman intersection will undergo major improvement.

The bridge work is being carried out by Bahrain-Belgium joint venture Haji Hassan-Six Construct. The project has been designed by Hyder Consulting Middle East.

"The causeway will accommodate 6.4 km of dual three-lane highway and provide vital service corridors between the two islands," Al Jowder said. "The electricity and water produced at the Hidd power and water station will be transmitted over the causeway."

The 400-m-long bridge carries a three-lane dual carriageway, footpaths and sunk-in service corridors to carry major services on both sides of the bridge. The whole unit comprises two twin-arches. The bowstring arch unit is 121 m long and 26 m high. The 41 m bridge has a viewing platform at the top and a bridge climb at the side fitted on the northern arch. The central main span has a 15.4 m clearance to the mean high water spring level of the sea.