Abu Dhabi's 3.5km traffic tunnel officially completed 

(MENAFN) The Abu Dhabi Municipality has announced the completion of the region's longest traffic tunnel, which extends 3.5 km, reported Emirates 24/7.

The municipality said that the tunnel will connect the mainland to the nearby Reem Island, where at least 100,000 inhabitants will live.

It added that once it becomes fully operational, the road, being constructed by South Korea's Samsung Construction, could absorb 12,000 moving cars each hour in both directions.

Work on the USD1.36 billion project, which starts from the eastern entrance of Abu Dhabi city and runs under Alsalam street towards Port Zayed on the western tip of the capital, started 5 years ago and was supposed to be finished in 2010, however, it was deterred due to technical and topographical problems.

According to the municipality, nearly 2 km of the tunnel would be embedded nearly 15 meters underground, whereas the rest would be open and near the surface level.

It is worth noting that over 2,000 workers were involved in the construction of the project.