Work on the BD50 million ($132.6 million) Isa Town Interchange project in Bahrain is almost complete and is set to be fully operational by the end of the month, said a top official.

More than 6,000 cars use the intersection per hour during peak times and once completed, it is expected to considerably ease traffic flows linking Manama with Riffa, Sanad, Isa Town and Zayed Town.

'Almost all work is completed with one of the bridges, carrying traffic from Sanad towards Manama nearing completion,' said the official.

'The rest of the work, including the underpass in both directions to and from Manama to Riffa, has already been completed.'

The official said the road taking traffic from Sanad to Zayed Town had also been in operation for a month.

The first section of the project, taking traffic from Manama to Sanad, opened in May.

'After the whole project is completed, only the landscaping aspect will remain and that will be completed in due course,' said the official.

Construction work at the project, which came to a temporary halt after the original contractor Sungwon Corporation was axed in February last year, was later re-tendered and awarded to Nass Corporation three months later.

Officials said there were several complications while building the underpass, including moving public facilities and underground cables, but those were all successfully accomplished.

Works Ministry public relations and media director Fahad Buallay earlier said that when completed the entire project would be an engineering masterpiece, with three layers of traffic moving in different directions.

He said with the 560-metre underpass in operation, people travelling from Manama towards Riffa now have considerable ease of access.

Ministry Public Works Affairs under-secretary Nayef Al Kalali had said the project had faced several key challenges.

This included its proximity to live services, the necessity to adopt a proper sequence in construction and managing the high volumes of traffic through a complex and strategic section of the road network. – TradeArabia News Service