Photo Credit: Ashghal
The shell sculpture at the Shell Roundabout (also known as Pearl Roundabout) in Al Wakra will have a new home soon as the roundabout will be converted into a traffic signal in 2019.
This is part of the Al Wakra Main Road upgrade work by the Public Works Authority (Ashghal).
Ashghal said in a tweet that “the Pearl roundabout on Al-Wakra road will be moved to a convenient location to convert the roundabout into an intersection in 2019 in coordination with the Special Engineering Office.”
Many famous roundabouts have been changed to traffic signals recently for better traffic management and to remove congestion on roads. Sports roundabout, parachute roundabout, TV roundabout have all been converted into an intersection in the past few years.
Some people have started a hashtag, which was trending on Twitter, sharing memories and saying goodbye to the historic roundabout. One Twitter user asked Ashghal to move it to the Al Wakra beach. But all are welcoming the road project as it will ease traffic on the busy road.
According to Al Watan newspaper the sculpture will be shifted to Al Wakra souq. There is no official confirmation of the same.
In the third stage of the Al Wakra Main Road upgrade project, the work starts about 1 km before Pearl Roundabout and extends up to Woqod Petrol Station located towards the city of Mesaieed. The construction includes the development of the 5.5 km long road from Al Wakra Main Road and converting three main roundabouts: Pearl Roundabout, Ooredoo Roundabout and Wadi Afja Roundabout in Al Jabal area to signal-controlled intersections in addition to the construction of a junction in Al Razi Street.
