Construction of the Subbiya link of the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah Causeway is moving at a steady pace and is on track for completion. According to a report by the Kuwait Times, the last component of the structure is set to be installed by the end of this month.
Once complete, the causeway will link the capital Kuwait City with Al Subiya, a town on the other side of the bay, shortening the distance from 104km to 36km. Once the project is opened to traffic, motorists will be able to cross the distance in 30 minutes, instead of the 90 minutes via the existing land route.
According to Ahmad Al Hessan, director of the Public Authority for Roads and Land Transport, precast sections have been used in building the 27km-long bridge over Kuwait Bay using 958 pieces, each 40 to 60m long and 17m wide and standing at a height of 2.5–to–4m. The sections are said to weigh 950 tonnes.
The $3bn causeway project is named after the 13th Emir of Kuwait to commemorate his contribution to the development of the country. It comprises two main elements, the 36.1km Main Link and the 12.4km Doha Link, which together make the causeway one of the longest bridge projects in the world.
The development of the projects two main components were awarded on a design-build basis following the completion of the concept design. A consortium of Hyundai Engineering & Construction with Kuwaits Combined Group Contracting Company (CGCC) is the contractor for the Main Link and was awarded the $2.6bn contract in November 2013. GGS Engineering & Construction was made responsible for the contracting work on the Doha Link in 2014 in a deal worth $546m.
Dar Al Handasah (Shair & Partners) (Dar) in association with TY Lin International (TYLI) and consultant SSH, is the engineers representative on both projects, and is responsible for the design review and construction supervision of the project.
