The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced the partial  opening of the North Canal Crossing bridge, which is part of the Lusail Expressway Project, to the public.

The newly-opened section of the bridge is expected to reduce travel time to residential and commercial developments in Legtaifiya and provide easy access to Lusail City and the northern areas of Qatar, Ashghal has said in a press statement.
The opening took place on Friday after the completion of its first phase of work.
Located between Lusail City and north of the Pearl Interchange currently under construction, the North Canal Crossing bridge will be a 200m-long vital crossing. The opened section will provide two lanes in each direction and it forms a section of the permanent road.
The North Canal Crossing bridge upgrade is due to be completed in the last quarter of 2017, the statement notes.
Lusail Expressway is one of the Expressway Programme’s key projects currently under construction. It is located to the north of Doha and will upgrade the existing Lusail Street from south of the Al Wahda Intersection (previously known as the Arch Roundabout) to north of the North Canal Crossing.
The project is 5.3km long, with four lanes in each direction. In addition to the upgraded North and South Canal Crossings, it will deliver three major interchanges at Al Wadha, The Pearl and Onaiza, each as high as four levels, comprising a network of vehicle and Light Rail tunnels, underpasses, flyovers and junctions, Ashghal has explained.
Six major tunnels at The Pearl and Onaiza Interchanges and the underpass at Al Wadha are at advanced stages of structural construction and utility works.
Till date, over 3,000,000 cubic metres of materials have been excavated to enable works on these sites. Some 38,000m of telecommunication, water and electricity utility network lines have been laid while 513,000 cubic metres of concrete and 55,000 cubic metres of rebar steel works have been utilised to deliver the current state of completion.
The "world-class infrastructure" has been designed to meet the future transport needs of Qatar and all combined, will facilitate "faster, safer and seamless traffic movement of people and goods", Ashghal has stressed.
The developments will serve local tourist attractions such as Katara - The Cultural Village, growing residential communities such as The Pearl-Qatar, as well as key commercial and diplomatic areas. Most notably, they will provide direct, free-flowing connection to the rapidly developing Lusail City Development.
Ashghal, the statement notes, is committed to ensuring the preservation of local marine ecology throughout the construction of the North and South Canal Crossings and has implemented a monitoring programme that uses marine conservation techniques to regularly assess environmental conditions and sea grass health.



The opened section of the North Canal Crossing bridge at night