Sharjah: King Faisal Road in Sharjah is now open in both directions, bringing much-needed relief to motorists who were forced to take crowded diversions or alternative routes since July.
On Thursday, commuters were glad to see that the Al Wahda-bound side of the major road had reopened. The Rolla-bound side reopened in September.
The reopening also means that alternative routes will now be less busy as motorists return to King Faisal Street, which passes through crowded residential areas such as Abu Shaghara and Al Qasimia.
The arterial road, which has three lanes in each direction, was closed in July for repairs and roadworks by the Sharjah Roads and Traffic Authority. The project’s initial cost had been around Dh11.4 million but crossed over Dh14 million.
“It’s such a relief. It was so hard to get out of the area because of the diversion, which was bumpy and packed with cars,” British motorist Rez Al Attar said.
“I’ve been dealing with it for two months and I was pleasantly surprised to see it has reopened this morning.”
Another motorist, Pakistani expat Ali Mohammad, said the road was “flowing” at midday. “I use the road five or six times a day so I had to put up with unbearable traffic, but now that’s hopefully a thing of the past. I’m so glad the wait is over. If [authorities] keep the traffic lights open long enough, traffic will flow. For an unknown reason, the road was chocked at around 8.30am, but it’s flowing now,” Mohammad added.
Traffic on the opposite side – from Al Wahda to Rolla – has already improved because of the completion of roadworks. An Indian motorist, who only identified herself as S.K., said a main reason for the improvement is the fact that the service road entrance to Abu Shaghara has now been moved till after the first traffic light.
“Before everyone would line up to the far right lane to enter Abu Shaghara but the traffic would not move because there was a traffic light right at the entrance – which would be more red than green. Now you go past the light when it’s green and then enter the service road,” she explained.
The refurbished road is spotless and has fresh lane markings. Pedestrian crossings have also been upgraded. However, some work remains in the service road, which had been turned into a diversion while the main road was closed. Parking spaces in the service road had been turned into a makeshift lane to allow more cars to access the diversion.
