Travel time on this Dubai road towards Sharjah to reduce by 40 per cent

Dubai: Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has awarded a contract for the Garn Al Sabkha Street Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road Intersection Improvement Project to carry out the construction of four bridges, spanning 3,000 metres and capable of carrying 17,600 vehicles per hour.

The project, which has a Dh374 million budget, has been planned in response to the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council to keep pace with the changing profile of Dubai and accommodate the needs of urban development and population growth.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, RTA, said: “This project is part of a larger initiative to improve Garn Al Sabkha Street Corridor; that connects Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Roads. Its goal is to guarantee that traffic flows smoothly between Sheikh Zayed Road, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, First Al Khail Street and Al Asayel Street.”

“Once completed, the project will reduce transit distance and time by 40 per cent for traffic heading from Garn Al Sabkha Street to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road in the direction of Al Qusais and Sharjah, reducing peak hour journey time from 20 minutes to just 12 minutes. It will also reduce the journey time by 70 per cent for vehicles from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road rightward to Al Yalayis Road in the direction of Jebel Ali Port from 21 minutes to seven minutes,” added Al Tayer.

“Four bridges are being built as part of this project. The first is a 960-metre bridge at the intersection of Garn Al Sabkha Street and Al Asayel Street. This two-lane bridge can handle 8,000 vehicles per hour in both directions and facilitates a smooth traffic flow between Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road. The second is a 660-metre bridge of two lanes serving traffic from Garn Al Sabkha Street Westwards heading to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road Northwards in the direction of Al Qusais and Sharjah. This bridge can handle 3,200 vehicles per hour,” explained Al Tayer.

“The third is a two-lane 700 metres bridge streamline the traffic flow and eliminate the overlapping traffic from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road heading northward to Al Yalayis Road in the direction of Jebel Ali Port. The bridge can accommodate 3,200 vehicles per hour. The fourth is a two-lane bridge spanning 680 metres long that would ensure smooth traffic flow and prevent the overlapping traffic from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road to the service road leading to Dubai Production City. The bridge has a capacity of 3,200 vehicles per hour,” he added.

The project scope also includes 7km of roadwork, enhancing surface intersections on the service road running parallel to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, as well as street lighting, traffic signals & systems, rainwater drainage networks, and irrigation system networks.

Garn Al Sabkha - Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Roads Intersection Improvement Project is part of RTA’s master plan to upgrade strategic road corridors to the East and the West such as Al Yalayis and Expo Roads, which RTA completed a few years ago. These vital road networks help to strengthen Dubai’s transportation system, service an array of developmental projects on both sides of the roads and accommodate both current and future traffic volumes.