Fujairah: It only takes 40 minutes to get here from Dubai.
And no more driving between lumbering lorries and clapped-out cars.
Yesterday, few drivers travelling between the two emirates seemed to realise the new $1.7 billion (Dh6.24 billion) road slicing through the Hajjar Mountains is open. "It's beautiful," one Abu Dhabi woman said as she pulled over to watch some construction workers pour cement.
The new 40-kilometre stretch links the outskirts of Fujairah — close to where the new city centre mall is being built — with Dubai and Sharjah via Al Maleha Road. Driving at the speed limit, it takes 40 minutes to travel from downtown Fujairah to the Dubai Bypass intersection, avoiding congested areas such as Al Dhaid, Masafi and the busy daily "Friday market" on Highway 89.
The new motorway cuts through the mountains using terraced rock cuts. Safety wire meshing is used extensively to prevent rocks from tumbling onto the road surface. Heavy lorries are prohibited from using the road.
