Al Madinah
Tunnel

Tunnelling Beneath Amman's
Busiest Commercial Corridor

Al Madinah Tunnel is a major road tunnel built by CEC beneath Zahran Street, one of Amman's most heavily trafficked and densely built commercial corridors. Commissioned by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), the project sits alongside CEC's Middle East Tunnel as part of the municipality's broader programme to grade-separate the capital's most congested junctions and free up surface-level traffic flow for local access, pedestrians, and commercial frontage activity.

Zahran Street runs through a corridor lined with banks, retail outlets, offices, and residential buildings — many constructed directly against the road reserve with shallow foundations dating back several decades. Unlike a greenfield tunnel alignment, Al Madinah Tunnel required the entire excavation and structural sequence to be carried out in immediate proximity to occupied buildings whose foundations, in some cases, sat only metres from the tunnel walls.

CEC's selection as main contractor reflects the same First Grade Infrastructure classification and tunnelling expertise applied on the Middle East Tunnel, adapted here to the specific geometry, alignment, and urban-fabric constraints of the Zahran Street corridor — a project that demanded as much precision in monitoring and sequencing as it did in construction itself.

Engineering Challenges

Al Madinah Tunnel's alignment through a dense retail and commercial district introduced a distinct set of engineering and logistical demands:

• Protecting adjacent building foundations: Excavation and shoring works had to be designed and sequenced to avoid undermining or destabilising the shallow foundations of commercial buildings standing directly along the tunnel alignment.
• Vibration monitoring during excavation: Continuous vibration monitoring was carried out throughout rock breaking and excavation activities, with trigger levels set to protect nearby structures and halt or adjust methods if thresholds were approached.
• Traffic diversion through a dense retail corridor: Maintaining access for businesses along Zahran Street while diverting through-traffic required a carefully staged traffic management plan, developed in close coordination with GAM and local merchants.
• Confined working space: With buildings, utilities, and live traffic on every side, the project had minimal room for site compounds, material storage, or plant movement — requiring tightly scheduled deliveries and just-in-time construction logistics.

Scope of Work

CEC's construction scope on Al Madinah Tunnel included: pre-construction condition surveys of adjacent buildings; design and installation of monitoring instrumentation for ground movement, settlement, and vibration; utility identification, protection, and diversion along the Zahran Street corridor; excavation and ground support tailored to the confined urban setting; construction of the reinforced concrete tunnel structure including base slab, walls, and roof; waterproofing, drainage, lighting, and ventilation systems; and full reinstatement of the road surface, footpaths, and street frontages on completion.

Quality & Safety

With occupied buildings standing immediately adjacent to the works, CEC applied an enhanced quality and safety regime on Al Madinah Tunnel — including real-time monitoring dashboards for ground movement and vibration, daily review of instrumentation readings against pre-agreed trigger levels, close liaison with affected building owners and tenants, and rigorous documentation of every stage of the works in line with GAM's specifications and Jordan's First Grade contracting standards.