Omani authorities have opened the Sharqiyah Expressway, a 191-km engineering marvel that runs between Bidbid and Al Kamil W’al Wafi areas, for traffic. It is also the first tunnel road project of the sultanate, said a report.
 
The first three months will be trial period with only light vehicles permitted to use the expressway. Heavy vehicles except those loaded with petrochemicals and hazardous materials will be allowed to use it gradually, reported Oman Observer.

Each tunnel consists of two separate carriages of three lanes in each direction with a speed limit of 90 km per hour inside the tunnel, it stated.

Designed in accordance with the highest international specifications and standards, the road includes two tunnels with a total length of 2.1 km. The first tunnel, around 650-m-long, is located in the village of Nadab in Samayil, while the second tunnel, which runs 1,450 m long, is situated amidst the mountain ranges of Al Aqq, stated the report.

Outside the tunnel, the speed limit is up to 120 km per hour, it said.

Connecting to the capital, the government plans to build a third and fourth lane of Rusayl–Nizwa dual carriageway project from Muscat Expressway Junction to Bidbid-Sur Junction, it added.