Ras Al Khaimah: A new 16km stretch of Emirates Road was opened on Tuesday to traffic from Al Uqron in Umm Al Quwain to Martyrs Road in Ras Al Khaimah near Shaikh Khalifa Speciality Hospital.
The stretch has two lanes on both sides and runs parallel to Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road, providing an alternative route to and from Ras Al Khaimah.
The extension was opened by Dr Abdullah Mohammad Bel Haif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development, on Tuesday morning. Senior officials from the ministry and other departments toured the extension before holding a press conference at a new rest Area on the road.
Trucks will be diverted from Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road to the new stretch of Emirates Road, which will eventually be linked to the under-construction Ras Al Khaimah Ring Road. The development will now also free up Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road from heavy vehicular traffic.
The extension, built a cost of Dh142 million over two years, has the provision for an extra third lane to be built. It is equipped with two rest areas for trucks and a rainwater drainage system and built to international best standards, the ministry said.
“The Ministry of Infrastructure Development is working to keep up with the best global practices in the areas of implementation of road projects in order to bring about a qualitative and real shift in the development system related to the ministry’s work,” Al Nuaimi said.
He added that the ministry has also launched the third and final phase of the extension of Emirates Road from Toyen up to Ras Al Khaimah Ring Road for a length of seven kilometres. Work on the final phase will start during the second quarter of this year and be completed during the third quarter of 2017.
The development contributes to the growing network of federal highways connecting the northern and southern areas of the country. Emirates Road now covers roughly 135km from the Dubai-Abu Dhabi border to Martyrs Road in Ras Al Khaimah.
