Dubai: While work on the Shaikh Zayed Road diversion to pave way for the Dubai Canal project is in full swing, traffic on the internal roads in Al Wasl area have been badly affected.
The exit to Shaikh Zayed Road from Umm Ammara street, which was earlier expanded to two tracks, has now been narrowed to one track again, bringing the tailbacks to previous levels when the work first began earlier this year.
According to RTA, 25 per cent of the diversion works on Shaikh Zayed Road near Safa Park have been completed and the tracks will be ready by October 25.
An additional six tracks are being built on Shaikh Zayed road for a stretch of 1 kilometre from Business Bay Metro station to Interchange Two, to allow for construction work on one portion of a 16-lane flyover. Traffic heading towards Abu Dhabi will diverted to the new tracks until the canal project is completed.
“The water canal project is progressing on schedule and the implementation of the traffic diversion is currently under way along with shifting of utility lines under the proposed canal in addition to the earthworks. The traffic diversion will be implemented to world-class specifications and international quality,” Maitha Bin Udai, CEO of RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency, said.
According to Maitha, 70 per cent of phase one which involved shifting of the existing utility lines in the area affected by the project has been completed.
“Parallel to this, the RTA will be starting construction works on the northern bridge in the direction of Dubai on Shaikh Zayed Road near the Metro line after re-routing the traffic movement to the traffic diversion,” stated Maitha.
Work on the Dubai Canal Project began late last year with the project being split into three phases, all currently under way simultaneously.
Phase one comprises the construction of bridges across the Water Canal on Shaikh Zayed Road consisting of eight lanes in each direction. The bridges will rise eight metres to allow free navigation of boats in the Canal round-the-clock, besides carrying out a number of improvements on roads network around the Canal.
The second phase includes the construction of bridges across the Water Canal on the Jumeirah and Al Wasl roads spanning three lanes on Jumeirah Road and two lanes on Al Wasl Road in each direction, in addition to a flyover from Al Wasl Road to Al Hadiqa Road in the direction of Shaikh Zayed Road as well as diverting the existing utility lines and carrying out necessary traffic diversions.
Phase three encompasses the drilling of a 3.2-km-long canal, landfilling works of the island, constructing a sea wall around the island to prepare the beach, building a marina for boats and the Water Bus, and constructing three landmark pedestrian bridges above the Canal to link the Jumeirah Beach Walk with Safa Park Walk.
The entire project is expected to be ready by 2016.
