ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A section of third and final portion of 120 Meter Road in Erbil city opened to commuters on Wednesday, with the goal to alleviate traffic in the sprawling capital of the Kurdistan Region.
"It is clear for all that, we undertook this project during the height of the difficult days of conflict, but we managed to successfully finish the sections and phases of this project with the will of all sides and the support of Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani," Khalid Khoshnaw, the owner of the Hemn Group, told Rudaw.
This part of the third portion, totaling 11 kilometers, stretches from the Erbil-Koya Road to the Erbil-Kirkuk Road. Nine more kilometers of the road remain to be finished.
"It is a great pride that we once again gather to open another section of the road and hand it over in order for it to serve the people," Khoshnaw said.
The project funded by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) via a long-term loan to Hemn Group. The cost of the project is $440 million.
The speed limit on 120 Meter Road is 100 kilometers per hour with no traffic lights, allowing drivers to complete a lap of the 38-kilometer ring road in about 20 minutes.
"We are confident that the opening of this portion will ease Erbil’s traffic jams because this section is located in the busiest and among the biggest neighborhoods Erbil — connecting all of Erbil’s main roads," Khoshnaw said.
In the second and third sections of the road, 470,000 tons of concrete and 27,000 tons of construction steel were used, according to Hemn Group.
"It is clear for all that, we undertook this project during the height of the difficult days of conflict, but we managed to successfully finish the sections and phases of this project with the will of all sides and the support of Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani," Khalid Khoshnaw, the owner of the Hemn Group, told Rudaw.
This part of the third portion, totaling 11 kilometers, stretches from the Erbil-Koya Road to the Erbil-Kirkuk Road. Nine more kilometers of the road remain to be finished.
"It is a great pride that we once again gather to open another section of the road and hand it over in order for it to serve the people," Khoshnaw said.
The project funded by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) via a long-term loan to Hemn Group. The cost of the project is $440 million.
The speed limit on 120 Meter Road is 100 kilometers per hour with no traffic lights, allowing drivers to complete a lap of the 38-kilometer ring road in about 20 minutes.
"We are confident that the opening of this portion will ease Erbil’s traffic jams because this section is located in the busiest and among the biggest neighborhoods Erbil — connecting all of Erbil’s main roads," Khoshnaw said.
In the second and third sections of the road, 470,000 tons of concrete and 27,000 tons of construction steel were used, according to Hemn Group.
New main roads and highways in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, aim to alleviate traffic. Graphic: Rudaw
The master plan for Erbil includes a series of concentric ring roads — 30 Meters, 40 Meters, 60 Meters, 100 Meters, 120 Meters, and 150 Meters. The aim is for commuters in Erbil’s suburbs and surrounding towns to use the ring roads before entering smaller and more congested roads within the city.
120 Meter Road was added to Erbil's master plan in 2005. It is currently the outermost of the ring roads that encircle the city with the historic Erbil Citadel at the centre. Work on the road began in early 2013.
The KRG repeatedly has blamed the conflict with the Islamic State (ISIS), a global downturn in the oil prices, and budget disputes with Baghdad for delays in infrastructure projects.
Turkish Ekinciler Construction Company started work in the first section of the road in 2010, but they finished just 50 percent of it and left the project. Hemn Group, a domestic company, has been tasked with finishing the remaining unfinished parts.
"We will continue to finish the unfinished part and the rest of the project," Khoshnaw added.
The projects haven’t been without hiccups, however, on May 17 a water main burst near the Baharka exit, causing cracks in 120 Meter Road which required the road to be temporarily closed and traffic re-rerouted.
The total 120 Meter Road project is a 70 kilometer-long ring road that will encircle Erbil.
The 120 Meter Road project is finishing just as construction on 150 Meter Road begins.
The KRG repeatedly has blamed the conflict with the Islamic State (ISIS), a global downturn in the oil prices, and budget disputes with Baghdad for delays in infrastructure projects.
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