Following the inauguration last month of the landmark Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Causeway project – which provides a third link between Muharraq and the mainland of Bahrain – the Road Projects and Maintenance Directorate is set to launch works on the next major project – the new Sitra bridges. 

It is also looking to launch design work on the total of 26 schemes that form part of Bahrain’s Strategic Road Masterplan project.

Sitra bridges
Construction work is set to commence this year on the new Sitra bridges. With the exercise of prequalifying contractors  nearing completion, tenders for the project are due to be announced shortly.
“The project aims to replace the existing Sitra bridges, which are nearing the end of their serviceable life and only provide two lanes in each direction and cannot cope with the current volume of traffic,” says Waleed Yousif Al Saie, acting director of Roads Projects and Maintenance Directorate. “In addition, maintenance costs on the existing structures are becoming prohibitive making them cost-ineffective to retain.”
Cowi Almoayed Gulf has been commissioned to design and supervise construction of the project, which calls for the replacement of Sitra bridges and the upgrade of the Umm Al Hassam Junction at Shaikh Isa bin Salman Highway and Kuwait Avenue.
Cowi has completed the designs for the scheme and prepared the tender documents, taking into account the major service requirements resulting from the proposed demolition of the existing bridges. 
The new bridges with provide for three lanes of traffic in each direction with a full width hard shoulder. The causeways will be widened to allow the new bridges to be constructed –independent of the existing Sitra bridges– westwards into Tubli Bay. 
The Umm Al Hassam junction will be grade-separated with an underpass to cater for east-west traffic and a single direction flyover for the east to southbound traffic.  All other traffic movements will be at grade with traffic signals. 
The junction with Nabih Saleh will be retained but with localised improvements whereas the North Sitra junction will cater for access to the new Sitra Mall complex. 
Upon completion of the civil works to the bridges and causeway, the diversion of major services will follow, thus allowing the old Sitra bridges to be demolished. 

Strategic Road Master Plan
A total of 22 consultants have submitted prequalification bids for the design and supervision of 26 road improvement schemes planned at various location in Bahrain, according to Al Saie.
The projects for a part of the Bahrain Transport Model and Strategic Master Plan, under which  consultant Hyder Consulting has identified and developed conceptual plans for road improvements that require immediate attention at several locations within the Bahrain road network.
“The selected consultant will undertake the strategic management, detailed design and supervision of the schemes, which vary from superseding roundabouts with traffic-signalled junctions to the provision of major grade-separated interchanges, all of which are heavily congested,” says Al Saie.
“A key element of this project is the consultant’s ability to plan and manage the traffic within the country whilst construction works are ongoing at a number of locations throughout Manama and further afield,” he adds.
The prequalification evaluation report has been completed and the selected consultants will be invited to submit technical and financial proposals.

Projects under way
Among the key projects under construction are the Seef flyovers and Phase 5 of  Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Highway Phase 5, which are designed to facilitate traffic flow within the country, while easing the congestion at busy areas.
Work is also in progress on the access road to the $1 billion Durrat Al Bahrain resort city being built to the south of Bahrain.

Seef flyovers
Construction is under way on two grade-separated interchanges in the Seef area. Work on one of the them – located immediately north of the existing Central Market (Pearl) roundabout – was substantially completed by December 15 last year, while work continues on the other, which entails replacing the Seef roundabout and also includes a single-point diamond traffic-signalled junction underneath the flyover. The consultant on the project is Parsons Global Services Limited, which also conduced a transportation study of north Manama.
The BD9.703 million contract is being carried out by local company Khalid Al Rahim (KAR) in joint venture with a Malaysian construction company WCT and is scheduled for final completion by the end of May, providing a free flow for vehicles in an east-west direction. 

New highway
Work on Phase 5 of the Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway commenced last October and is due for completion in March, in time for the next Formula 1 event set for April.
The project, which aims to increase the capacity of the access roads to the Formula 1 circuit, entails connecting the road system between Madinat Hamad, Zallaq Highway and the University of Bahrain, including the upgrading of Roundabouts 7, 12, 13, 14 and 16 of Madinat Hamad.  The main roadworks include the construction of a dual two-lane carriageway to the west of Madinat Hamad, forming part of the strategic western bypass.  In addition, a dual three-lane carriageway east of Madinat Hamad is currently under construction, connecting Roundabout 14 to Zallaq Highway and onwards to the University of Bahrain.
Hyder Consulting is responsible for the design and construction supervision.
 Work, being carried out at a cost of BD 4.5 million, will be completed in two stages:  the first by March 21 in time for the Formula 1 event and involving all roadworks north of Zallaq highway and the second stage by the end of May consisting of the Madinat Hamad works and access to the University of Bahrain.

Durrat Al Bahrain access road
Construction work is under way on a 25 km dual two-lane highway that will provide access to the Durrat Al Bahrain resort.  
Local company Cebarco, in joint venture with the Malaysian WCT, launched work on the BD17.65 million project last June  and is expected to complete it by June 2006.
Local consultant Ismail Khonji Associates in association with international consultant Highpoint Rendel is responsible for the design and supervision of the project.
“The road commences north of the village of Askar and runs south to the leisure development,” explains Al Saie. “Whilst providing the necessary access to the development, this road also forms a section of the long-term National Loop Road.  In order to provide free-flow traffic in a north-south direction, five flyovers have also been designed providing grade-separated interchanges at strategic points on the route.  These provide access to the villages of Askar and Jaww as well as the Shaikh Isa airbase and have been designed with a sufficient main span to accommodate an upgrade to a dual three-lane carriageway in the future.”

Projects completed in 2004
Among the major milestones achieved by the Roads Directorate was the completion of the Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Causeway which was officially inaugurated last month.
Other projects completed last year were the Amwaj access roads, Seef reclamation works,  the Madinah Hamad flyover and the access roads to the Bahrain International Racing Circuit.
• The Amwaj Islands access road: This project is located at the east side of the Muharraq, partly adjacent to the Dry Dock Highway up to the existing access road to the Amwaj Island.  The causeway works were designed and the construction supervised in-house by the Special Projects Department.
The first phase comprised the reclamation of a new causeway from Drydock Highway at the east to Amwaj Island at the west.  This causeway forms part of the long-term national loop road planned for construction around the north side of Muharraq. 
Boskalis Westminster, which commenced work on the BD1.9 million project  last May, is close to completing it.
Additional works for the Amwaj Island access causeway and the provision of a reclaimed platform for the construction of a water blending station for the Ministry of Electricity and Water were also completed last year at a further cost of BD1.4 million.
In addition, the ministry provided an enhanced fishing facility for the local fishermen on the shoreline at Hidd at a cost of BD100,000.
•Seef reclamation works: Prior to the completion of a road and bridgeworks contract in the Seef area, an advanced reclamation was carried out at a cost of BD1.7 million to provide land for the adjacent sliproads and main highway.  The reclamation was designed and the works supervised in-house by the Special Projects Department in compliance with an environmental impact assessment and the requirements of Water Resources and Marine Resources Directorates.  
An extension to the contract, north of the new Central Market Interchange, required the reclamation of a 100 m-wide road corridor 650 m long northwards into the sea at a cost of BD4.3 million. The works were completed last December and will provide access to sustain planned development in the area. 
In addition to future road construction, this reclamation provides a service corridor to replace the existing Batelco marine fibre optic cable planned for decommissioning.
• Madinat Hamad flyover, which spans over the existing roundabout at the junction of Shaikh Isa bin Salman Highway and Wali Al Ahed Highway at the northern end of Madinat Hamad.  Local contractor Hafeera Contracting in joint venture with Wade Adams, an international contractor, undertook the construction of the twin-arched flyover under a BD2.53 million contract which was  substantially completed last February.
• An additional dual carriageway was constructed to meet the projected increase in traffice to the Bahrain Racing Circuit last year. The BD4.7 million contract was substantially completed by the end of last March, in time for Bahrain’s first Formula 1 race meeting on  April 4.