The Sabah Al-Nasser bridge has not opened. Part of it has, and that difference matters to every driver who passes there daily.
The Ministry of Public Works announced on 17 August the opening of two traffic movements on the bridge, after a halt in the project lasting some twelve years. The minister, Dr Noura Al-Mishaan, inspected the site the same day.
What exactly opened
Two movements, both ending at road 604, Kabd:
- Part of the bridge for traffic coming from the Sixth Ring Road, Salmiya direction, toward road 604.
- An exit for traffic coming from the Sixth Ring Road, Jahra direction, toward road 604.
So the direct beneficiary is anyone heading to Kabd or Sabah Al-Nasser from the Sixth Ring Road, who previously had to take a diversion. That diversion is gone for those two movements specifically.
What did not open
Everything else. The ministry described the project as in “the final stages of completion and execution works”, and published neither a list of the remaining movements nor a date for the bridge to be finished. Anyone reading the opening news and assuming the bridge is now available in all directions will find themselves on the old route.
To say it plainly: there is no official source giving a full completion date. Any figure circulating for a final opening did not come from the ministry.
Why twelve years
The ministry attributes the resumption to “intensive field follow-up and directives to complete the remaining works”, a phrasing that does not explain the halt itself. The bridge stood as a structure over the road throughout that period, and is a landmark the residents of Sabah Al-Nasser and Jahra know better than anyone.
In practice
If you take the Sixth Ring Road toward road 604, try the new route once at a quiet hour before relying on it at peak. The two movements are new, and in partial openings like this the signage usually lags the asphalt.
Sources: the Ministry of Public Works statement, 17 August 2026, as published by Kuwait Times and Barwaz the same day.
Photo: a highway interchange from the air. By Coolcaesar, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
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