Dubai: A top Dubai Airports official has urged passengers heading to Dubai International Terminals 1 and 3 to start early, in order to avoid any delays resulting from airport road expansion works.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, welcomed the commencement of the Airport Road expansion project by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) that will turn the busy road into an expressway with additional lanes, underpasses and bridges that will ease traffic considerably.
The project is expected to be complete in the next 18-24 months.
“Expansion in the air obviously drives the need for expansion on the ground and throughout our period of continuous and considerable growth the RTA has been instrumental in supporting access and connectivity to the airport for the residents of Dubai, including the commencement of the metro service in 2009. The new airport road expansion programme will serve to further enhance access and provide us with the capacity we need to serve the growing demand,” said Griffiths.
Road enhancements will be undertaken at a number of junctions along Airport Road, including Marrakesh and Casablanca streets, as all traffic lights will be removed and the junctions will be rebuilt into free-flowing interchanges with flyovers and underpasses.
He added that RTA has confirmed the road capacity will be fully maintained throughout the construction period to limit inconvenience, however, some delays may be experienced due to diversions and modifications to the road.
“Over the past seven years passenger traffic has more than doubled and we have climbed the ranks to become the world’s number one airport for international passenger traffic,” said Griffiths.
He added: “In that time we have opened Terminal 3, Concourse B, Concourse A and, most recently, Concourse D. The investment of some $13 billion (Dh47.75 billion) has paid huge dividends as now aviation supports more than 19 per cent of employment and 27 per cent of Dubai’s GDP.”
He advised all passengers and customers of Dubai Airports to allow additional time to drive to the airport during peak hours, specifically on Wednesday and Thursday evening and holiday travel periods due to high passenger loads.
