Motorists will have a shorter time travelling between Dubai and Sharjah as Dubai’s Road and transit Authority (RTA) opened the Al Khawaneej Roads Improvement Project.
The new roads which opened last Saturday is expected to decongest some of the emirate’s busiest road as it slashed travel time between Emirates Road and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road to nine minutes from 25.
It will also reduce the waiting time at the junction of Al Khawaneej road and Al Khawaneej roundabout from 5 and half minutes to just 45 seconds as the project doubles up the capacity of the junction from 8,000 to 16,000 vehicles per hour.
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“The Improvement of Al Khawaneej Roads Project is one of the key strategic projects for improving the links between Dubai and Sharjah through the improvement of vertical roads linking with the Emirates Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road up to the Airport Street.” Mattar Al Tayer, director-general of the Roads and Transport Authority, explained.
Al Tayer noted that the project will improve road links between the emirates as it “halves the waiting time at the intersection of Al Khawaneej-Al Amardi Roads, which has been upgraded from a roundabout to a surface junction, from 120 seconds to 60 seconds.”
The project also includes the construction of a tunnel of three lanes in each direction extending 680 metres at the intersection of Al Khawaneej Road with Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Road.
Construction of a surface signalized junction to ensure free and safe traffic flow on Al Khawaneej Road is underway along with the upgrading of the existing roundabout at the intersection of Al Khawaneej-Al Amardi Roads to a signalized junction.
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“The intersection of Al Amardi-Emirates Roads has also been upgraded to a flyover of two lanes in each direction extending 201 metres above the Emirates Road in the direction of Al Awir,” he noted.
A footbridge near Arabian Centre at Al Khawaneej road is under construction.
Also part of the road improvement is the service roads extending 23 km along Al Khawaneej and Al Amardi Roads, and some improvements in three junctions at Algiers Street which will be upgraded to signalised junctions.
Other construction in progress include streetlights, rainwater drainage system, directional signs, road markings, and protection works for road safety. (RA)
