Work has started on the Busaiteen Exit Extension linked to Shaikh Isa bin Salman Causeway in Bahrain in a bid to alleviate traffic congestion along 11 locations in North Muharraq area of the kingdom, said the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning.

The project, to be completed over two phases, will see alternative access and exit points along Ghous Highway and the Airport Highway. It is funded by the Ministry’s budget for 2015-2016.

The project will see the completion of construction of Road 2841 as a single road with one lane in each direction at a length of 2,317 km; parallel to Ghous Highway and connected to the present exit along Sheikh Isa bin Salman Causeway.

The extension will also allow residents to exit the area directly along Sheikh Isa Causeway towards Manama and thus reduce trip time, he added.

“Once completed, the capacity of the road will become 1,200 vehicles per hour, thus attracting part of the traffic travelling along Ghous Highway and will also reduce congestion by 20 per cent,” said Essam Al Khalaf, Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning.

In another development, the ministry said 80 per cent of the work has been completed at the A3 Storm Water Drainage Network Project, which aims to serve eight blocks in Muharraq and two blocks in Manama.

The BD479,489 ($1.26 million) project was awarded to Arad Contracting Company, she added.