Dubai: Traffic near the exit of FGB Metro Station leading to the service road on Shaikh Zayed Road is set to ease with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) starting work on an additional lane, Gulf News can confirm.
The development comes in the wake of a Gulf News report late last year that highlighted the worsening traffic situation at the exit, with traffic piling up from Umm Suqeim road as well as Shaikh Zayed Road.
Traffic to the service road heads from three directions — Umm Suqeim Road east as well west, Shaikh Zayed Road and the Mall of the Emirates, leading to a bottleneck.
The situation turned particularly bad after the opening of the refurbished Umm Suqeim road, attracting more motorists to use it, to and from Shaikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road.
“It is getting worse every day, particularly during the morning rush hour and it is good to know RTA has taken a note of the situation,” said George Bandara, a Sri Lankan, who uses the exit every day for work.
Importantly, the tailbacks leading to the exit are having an adverse impact on Shaikh Zayed Road as well, slowing down vehicular movement towards Sharjah in the evening.
“It is good to know a lane is being added to the exit, but I would suggest they should open up service directly from Umm Suqeim road. I think that will ease pressure on the exit immensely,” said Mohammad Farooq, a driver, who gets caught up in traffic at the location regularly.
Another motorist however, said more than the volume of traffic or lack of space, it’s the behaviour of the drivers that causes the tailback.
“People just don’t like to give way. There is no patience anymore. The roads are getting dangerous and this is not just about this particular place. At every point when you have to change lanes or when a lane merges, motorists just don’t bother to wait, there is no courtesy. I think if this issue is addressed, many problems on roads can be solved and traffic will be smoother,” said Mahesh Kumar.
Work on the additional lane will begin as soon as RTA engineers complete their study and signboards already been have been put up informing of the impending work.
“After modifications along Umm Suqeim Road including bridges, traffic throughput to Shaikh Zayed Road and on to the FGB service road has gone up.
Entry to the service road near FGB on Shaikh Zayed Road is currently served with one lane, which causes some tailbacks. RTA has been monitoring the situation, and is now working towards widening the road leading to the exit and provide two lanes entry to increase the capacity to FGB Metro station,” said Maitha Bin Adai, CEO, Traffic and Roads Agency at the RTA.
She added widening of the entry will improve the overall traffic situation in the area.
