Construction work is underway on important motorway widening stretches in Morocco. The capacity upgrade project will see both the Casablanca to Berrechid motorway and the Casablanca ring road being widened to three lanes in either direction. The aim is to cut peak time congestion for these road sections, which currently suffer delays at peak periods. Costing US$185 million, this is the second phase of the capacity upgrade work.
Casablanca is a centre for business in Morocco and the country’sgrowing economy is leading to a steady increase in vehicle numbers and motor traffic. The Casablanca to Berrechid motorway stretch is important as it carries around 60,000 vehicles/day and passes the busy Mohammed V International Airport.
The three year widening project will be for the stretch from the Mohammedia interchange to the junction for Berrechid. Building a 26km upgrade for motorway between the Berrechid Junction and the Sidi Maarouf interchange is costing $95 million.
Costing close to $90 million, the Casablanca ring road upgrade will be carried out between the Mohammedia interchange and the junction at Lissafa. This will also help to boost capacity for the ring road section, which carries around 50,000 vehicles/day. The work will also take three years to complete.
The widening and construction works are all being managed by Morocco’s national motorway operator, Autoroutes du Maroc. Financing has been arranged through a combination of private firms investing as well as from loans.
