Ministry of Construction: Baghdad-Karbala Strategic Road Project Completion by Year-End

The Ministry of Construction, Housing, and Public Municipalities announced that the Baghdad-Karbala Holy Road rehabilitation project, a strategic initiative for millions-strong pilgrimages, is set to be completed by the end of the current year. Amar Adel Hussein, Director General of the Roads and Bridges Department, stated in a release that "engineering and technical teams will finalize the Dala overpass by the end of next month as part of the project." He noted that the actual completion rate stands at 68%, surpassing the planned 46%. Hussein affirmed the target for the entire Baghdad-Karbala road's completion by year-end, urging accelerated efforts on the final stages, currently focused on the Dala overpass. This work aligns with finishing earthworks for the approaches, and the imminent start of asphalt paving for the overpass and its approaches, alongside preparing for final touches like furnishing and lighting. The total road length, including overpasses, is 21 kilometers, divided into two sections. The first section spans 12 kilometers from Dala intersection to Musayyib intersection, both ways. Works included widening the existing road to 20 meters per lane, maintaining and rehabilitating the old road, repaving it with a leveling and polymer-modified layer, and restoring the central island. The project also involves building two overpasses: the Dala Bridge (600 meters long, 20 meters wide) and the Musayyib overpass at Musayyib intersection (646 meters long, 21 meters total width).