Driving on Dubai’s Emirates Road to change after major RTA upgrade – Here’s how

Dubai motorists will soon enjoy a smoother drive on the busy Emirates Road, as the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) wraps up a major rehabilitation project expected to be completed by August 25.

Select media outlets were given a first-hand look at the large-scale roadworks, which utilise some of the latest maintenance and inspection technologies.

“It’s a full rehabilitation of a 14km stretch on both sides. This is considered one of the major maintenance projects of RTA,” said Abdullah Lootah, Director of Road and Facilities Maintenance at the Traffic and Roads Agency.

The work has been carried out on both the Sharjah-bound and Abu Dhabi-bound sections of the road.
“We have done the maintenance on both the ways – in the direction of Sharjah and in the direction of Abu Dhabi. It includes the fast lanes and the slow lanes. It included two layers, and in some parts, we did four layers,” Lootah noted.

To ensure precision, RTA deployed advanced inspection vehicles to assess the road’s structural condition and determine where work was needed.
“This is being done based on the results we got from the LCMS vehicle, or the laser detection vehicle. We decided to do a full rehabilitation,” he said.

While Dubai’s Pavement Quality Index (PPI) typically stands at 90 per cent or higher, this stretch of Emirates Road was found to be at 85 per cent.
“We are reconstructing because there is a lot of heavy traffic, and a lot of heavy vehicles pass here. This is a preventive step,” Lootah said.

The project, which began two to three months ago, is now 90 per cent complete.
“This has been done in stages on slow and fast lanes. Usually, we do 2km in one week. We do major works on weekends. We are keen to finish the project by August 25,” he added.

Once finished, the upgraded stretch is expected to improve driving comfort, reduce maintenance costs in the long term, and enhance road safety for thousands of daily commuters.