Dubai: Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) residents welcomed Nakheel’s move to open three new entry-exit points via Hessa Street to the community later this year to ease traffic congestion during peak hours.
Master developer Nakheel on Thursday said it has appointed UAE-based DX Contracting LLC and National Gulf Construction LLC to jointly construct the new JVC access points to improve traffic flow and reduce journey times.
JVC is one of Dubai’s largest and fastest-growing communities sandwiched between Al Khail Road and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road (SMBZR).
The Dh18.5 million project will begin in February and is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2016.
“This is fantastic news,” Syrian expatriate Mohammad Hilal told Gulf News. “This is very important because we have a very big traffic problem here. If you want to go to Abu Dhabi or to Dubai you have to take a long detour around the community that takes an extra 15 minutes.”
Harvey Waje, who works as a sales executive, often gets late for his evening appointments during peak hours. He said he had lost clients in the past due to this.
“Now what we do is allot an extra 30 minutes to travel time just so we would arrive on time,” Waje said.
Egyptian expatriate Ahmad Mohammad Al Gamal, whose flat is in a building exactly near the meeting point of Hessa Street and SMBZR, said the new access points is good news for the entire community.
“The main issue is there are only two exits to JVC on Al Khail Road and they are very close to each other. An entrance from Hessa Street is vital [to improve traffic flow]. Two years earlier, traffic was flowing fine. But lately traffic has become very bad. My office is in Dubai Internet City and I usually reach within 10 minutes. Now during peak hours the drive to work takes 40 minutes,” the pharmacist said.
Around 20,000 people currently living in the community will benefit in the project although the mixed-use development is expected to accommodate some 300,000 people when complete, a Nakheel spokesman said.
“The new road links will enhance JVC in both the short and long term by tackling the immediate needs of residents and addressing the future needs of the community as it expands,” the spokesperson said.
Nakheel has delivered more than 700 villas at JVC, with over 265 buildings, villas and town houses by third-party developers either complete or under construction. A further 239 residential, commercial and hospitality buildings by sub-developers are currently in design stage.
JVC will also be home to The Circle Mall, Nakheel’s new shopping, dining and entertainment hub, with 235 shops, cafés and restaurants and a multi-screen cinema. Construction will begin this year.
