# [KWT] Kuwait | road infrastructure



## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*الكويت - Kuwait​*
















Quick stats:

Area: 17.820 km²
Population: 3.556.000
Motorways: ~ 500 km
GDP per capita: $ 39.000


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Motorways in Kuwait City (7 ring roads!)


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Some roads outside of Kuwait City:


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

Interesting that they put "motorway" on the signs :banana:


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

It's not that weird considering they became independent of the United Kingdom in 1961. More countries in the Persian Gulf use "motorway" (Bahrain and Qatar for example)


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Road numbering system:

The Route Numbers 1 - 7 are ring roads of Kuwait City, which are generally bypasses a few kilometers apart. There are 7 ring roads. The radial roads of Kuwait City have two digits, starting from 40, running to 80, in multitudes of 10. Route 30, 40 and 50 run south, 70 runs southwest and 80 runs north. 

There are no other cities in Kuwait outside the Kuwait City metropolitan area. Jahra could be considered a separate city, but it is actually more or less part of the Kuwait City metropolitan area, which also includes Al Faihalheel. 

Hence, there are very few domestic destinations signed on the signs, apart from locations in the Kuwait City metropolitan area. Usually Iraq and Saudi Arabia are mentioned. There are 3 motorways running to the borders of these countries; 2 to SA and 1 to Iraq, which is the motorway to Basra.


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

ChrisZwolle said:


> It's not that weird considering they became independent of the United Kingdom in 1961. More countries in the Persian Gulf use "motorway" (Bahrain and Qatar for example)


Yes but these day it's the $ that counts round there not the £.


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## sirfreelancealot (Jul 26, 2010)

....but also look at the sign font (GB inspired), and the road markings (very similar), it does make these highways look more UK than the US.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

The Botts Dots are typically U.S. though. They seems to be used in more Middle East countries. (snowplows are not BD-friendly, but I guess that's not so much a problem in the desert  )


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

ChrisZwolle said:


> The Botts Dots are typically U.S. though. They seems to be used in more Middle East countries. (snowplows are not BD-friendly, but I guess that's not so much a problem in the desert  )


There is a complex colour system for cats eyes in the UK, but they are not used alone


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## Koesj (Dec 27, 2006)

ChrisZwolle said:


> The Botts Dots are typically U.S. though. They seems to be used in more Middle East countries. (snowplows are not BD-friendly, but I guess that's not so much a problem in the desert  )


Abu Dhabi uses them too, the other Emirates not so much though.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

I think there's a total overkill of motorways in Kuwait City. It's full of cloverleaves. :nuts:


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## Fargo Wolf (Oct 23, 2009)

ChrisZwolle said:


> The Botts Dots are typically U.S. though. They seems to be used in more Middle East countries. (snowplows are not BD-friendly, but I guess that's not so much a problem in the desert  )


I'm not surprised at the American, influence (Botts Dots). US and Canadian oil companies have been in the gulf countries since the fifties. So it would stand to reason that that road building would reflect American standards.

They might not have snow plows, but they do have sand plows. :colgate: Not that they are often needed.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Does anyone knows what the text on this road number says? Does it say something like "motorway" or "main road" or the street name?


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## eskandarany (Oct 15, 2008)

طريق route


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Thanks. Oman also uses it on their road signs in the rare cases they actually indicate road numbers.

Kuwaiti road number:









Omani road number:


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## actros (Nov 19, 2007)

thanks , but we need more to add for this thread , go ahead .


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## eskandarany (Oct 15, 2008)

Driving through a sandstorm (with Indian music )






Hwy 30 (Urban)






Driving through the desert from some military base.






Driving through the city.

I think Kuwait has American-style urban planning, more so than any other Arab country.


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## eskandarany (Oct 15, 2008)

ChrisZwolle said:


> Thanks. Oman also uses it on their road signs in the rare cases they actually indicate road numbers.
> 
> Kuwaiti road number:
> 
> ...


Well it's a very common word. 'Route Nationale' in Maghreb countries is equivalent to طريق وطني
so RN1 is also ط.و.1 . I think you'll find طريق on every country's signs.


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## Tincap (May 23, 2010)

The infamous Hwy 80, in 1991.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...d_vehicles_line_Highway_80_on_18_Apr_1991.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Highway_of_Death_2.JPEG

Source: Wikipedia

~BG


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*Al-Jahra Road upgrade*

An article about the $ 927 million Al-Jahra Road upgrade.

http://www.constructionweekonline.c...ait-twin-road-projects-on-track/#.UjYC1D_m41I

It's visible in Google Earth, most of it appears to be a viaduct.

_He added that Jahra road overhaul project will increase the number of lanes from two to up to 12 lanes on each side of the motorway._​


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

A 34 kilometer causeway is under construction across the Kuwait Bay.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*Jahra Road*

The Jahra Road project is touted as the largest road project in Kuwait. It includes 18 kilometers of new freeway, of which over 7 kilometers is elevated through Kuwait City. The first 4 kilometers of elevated highway opened on 10 February 2016. Jahra Road is part of Route 80.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*Nasser Road*

Nasser Road in Kuwait City also gets a 7+ kilometer elevated highway. It runs parallel to Jahra Road at a distance of only 1 kilometer, there is a link road between the two elevated highways. The Nasser Road Motorway also includes the first 4-level interchange in Kuwait.

website: http://www.nasserroad.com/


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*Nasser Road*

The new elevated highway over Jamal Abdul Nasser Road in Kuwait City is almost completed.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah Causeway*

*Kuwait's $3bn causeway on track for 2018 opening*

Nearly 70 per cent of work has been completed on the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah causeway, one of the largest infrastructure projects being constructed in the GCC region with an estimated cost of $3 billion, and is on track for opening in November 2018.​
Full report: http://www.tradearabia.com/news/CONS_318553.html

Largely unnoticed in the media, this is a 37 kilometer bridge connection across the Kuwait Bay. It consists of two main routes, a circa 28 kilometer bridge route to the north and a circa 7 kilometer side route to the west, which is called the 'Doha Link'. The longest bridge section is 13,855 meters long.

The main route across the Kuwait Bay is composed as follows:

Ghazali Transition: 447 m
Shuwaikh Port Bridge: 1.225 m
Shuwaikh Port Interchange: 1.440 m
Shuwaikh Bridge: 4.040 m
Bay Island South: 613 m
Approach Bridge South: 4.425 m
Main Bridge: 340 m
Approach Bridge North: 9.090 m
Bay Island North: 480 m
Subiyah Bridge: 7.920 m
Subiyah Embankment: 3.950 m
Subiyah Interchange: 2.170 m


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## rakcancer (Sep 2, 2010)

As in last sentence of above article: this is going to be tourist attraction (?!) and it will help to develop norther region of Kuwait (which is basically desert now)... I wish other countries had so much petrol money to put in such a lavish and totally unnecessary projects...


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

It's pretty much a 'bridge to nowhere' for now. There is almost nothing in the northeast of Kuwait and other developments are not really booming compared to the UAE or Qatar. 

They built the large Khiran Resort in the south of Kuwait, it opened in 1987 but development has been very slow, satellite imagery shows only limited development over the past 10 years. I doubt how a large new development in north Kuwait would surpass that. 

There already is a motorway around the Kuwait Bay. The bridge will cut the distance, but not by a huge amount.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

The first bridge segments of the Kuwait Bay Bridge became visible on this October 2016 imagery in Google Earth. It's on the north side of the bay.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

This May 2017 imagery shows the progress on the two new bridge crossings of the Kuwait Bay:


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## General Maximus (Dec 29, 2015)

^^

The Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah Causeway in Kuwait that is slated to open in November. The $3 billion 36 km long bridge across Kuwait Bay will reduce travel time between Kuwait City and the Subiyah Area from 70 minutes to less than 20.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

*Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah Causeway*

The Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah Causeway has been inaugurated on 1 May. It is a 36 kilometer project containing two bridges, the main bridge across the Kuwait Bay, and the so-called 'Doha Link' west of Shuwaikh Port.

The main bridge stretches 27 kilometers from coast to coast but is interrupted by two small artificial islands. The longest uninterrupted bridge segment stretches 13,855 meters.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

A new four level stack interchange is under construction west of Kuwait City. It doesn't lead to anything though. It looks like this is the first four level interchange in the country.









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