Dubai: A high-noon accident on Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road spawned bumper-to-bumper traffic conditions for commuters between Dubai and Sharjah on Tuesday afternoon.
Traffic nearly ground to a halt after a container fell off a truck when the truck driver lost control shortly after hitting another vehicle on the road in Sharjah heading to Ajman, near the Industrial Area 15 exit.
There were no injuries or deaths, Sharjah Police said.
Dubai and Sharjah roads almost came to a standstill at 2.30pm.
Roads were still jammed at 5pm.
A Sharjah Police spokesperson said police patrols were dispatched on the roads to regulate traffic flow and they closed one lane where the accident occurred, while two remained open for motorists.
The spokesperson said that they responded immediately and were working to clear the container and its contents from the road. There were no details given on the contents of the container.
Dubai Police said through its various social media platforms that “Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road will be closed toward Sharjah due to an accident in Sharjah, please be extra cautious and use alternative routes”.
Brigadier Omar Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Director of the Command and Control Centre at the General Directorate of Operations at Dubai Police, said that the accident had caused a backlog into Dubai and slowed down traffic.
He explained that the road slowed to a painful crawl due to the sheer volume of cars on the road, and was not shut down by Dubai Police.
“People should take alternative routes, such as Beirut Road, Emirates Road or whichever road that works, for their destination, instead of going on Mohammad Bin Zayed Road and getting stuck in the traffic jam while they are fasting,” he said.
Alia Abdul Rahman, an Emirati who was stuck in the congestion, said she left Shaikh Zayed Road at 2pm and got stuck in traffic for almost an hour on Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed road before she realised what was happening.
“When I checked Twitter and read that the road was closed, I took a turn on to Emirates Road, but everybody else was doing the same. This is the worst traffic that I’ve seen in a while,” Alia said.
Witnesses reported traffic jams starting from the petrol station before Mirdif City Centre towards Sharjah. Also, due to people changing their routes, other roads were more crowded than usual.
Sara Khalid, who was on Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road trying to reach Al Rashidiya Metro Station, said it took her 30 minutes to get there from just before Mirdif City Centre.
“It usually takes me 10 minutes max,” she said.
“Traffic was moving but it was very slow, it is very nerve-wracking to sit in traffic in this heat while fasting,” she said.
