Dubai: A bottleneck at the Al Ain road exit on Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road is causing massive tailbacks of traffic coming from the south during evening peak hours, leaving motorists fuming.
The single-lane exit has particularly proved inadequate lately with many residents having moved to new residential developments alongside the Al Ain road.
Motorists, who have no choice but to take the exit to reach their destinations, have called on the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to open more lanes for the traffic heading towards Al Ain from Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road.
“Hundreds of vehicles coming from multiple lanes converge on the single-lane exit at the Al Ain road interchange, turning it into a bottleneck. This leads to delays stretching up to 30 minutes sometimes. There is enough space to open another lane, which will ease the congestion considerably,” said Maimoona Mohammad, who lives in the vicinity.
It is not only causing delays to those heading to the Al Ain road, but is also slowing down traffic moving towards Sharjah.
“This bottleneck is having a major spillover effect on the overall movement of traffic as vehicles from a number of lanes try to converge on a single lane,” said Ali Asgher, a resident of Sharjah, who uses Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road during evening peak hours five days of the week.
Another motorist who uses the exit said the situation is exposing drivers to a grave danger.
“Every evening when I drive towards the Al Ain road exit, I freak out when I see some vehicles speed past on the first two lanes, while we are stuck in traffic trying to take the exit. I am worried that someday there might a major accident due to such close proximity between slowing and speeding traffic,” said a South African expat, who wished to remain anonymous.
Though the RTA has taken a note of the situation and is planning to redevelop the interchange, an immediate solution doesn’t seem likely.
“The RTA has already finalised plans for expansion of this interchange to solve the traffic problems faced by motorists. This is planned for implementation in the coming years,” said an RTA spokesperson, in a statement. Both, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road and Al Ain road are among the busiest roads in Dubai and any bottlenecks adversely impact the overall movement of traffic leading to these highways.
