PHOTOS: Second phase of work resumes on highway project in Kurdistan's Erbil

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Work on the second phase of a massive highway project in the Kurdistan Region's Erbil province resumed on Saturday.

This comes days after Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani issued a directive to complete the second part of the strategic road.

The first stage of the project focused on building 14 kilometers of road, starting from the town of Bahirka to the Koya road. The highway is expected to be completed in 2022.

Erbil’s road system operates in concentric circles, the smallest surrounding the ancient citadel at the heart of the city and expanding as one travels toward the outskirts of the capital.

The ringed roads follow the same name format: 30 Meter Road, 40, 60, 100, all the way to 120 Meter Road, the latter officially opening in February 2017.

With all the ever-larger circular roads extending further away from the city’s center, Erbil is sometimes referred to as the Spider City due to the way it looks from the sky.

Once completed, it will significantly reduce traffic congestion in the city center, according to the government.

The second phase includes the construction of a portion of the road extending from Erbil-Koya road to the Erbil-Shaqlawa road, extending for 7.2 kilometers.

On February 25, 2021, the first phase of the 150m road was finished.

Work on 150 Meter Road began in late 2018 and is expected to conclude in five stages. It will reportedly be 70 kilometers long—forty-two kilometers longer than 120 Meter Road. The highway will be 40-meters wide.