Motorists fume over unannounced road closures in Dubai

Dubai: Frustrated motorists were stuck in traffic for hours on Sunday as a result of the unannounced road closures, resulting in long delays in reaching offices and homes.

Confused about which roads had been closed, motorists had to take alternative routes to work yesterday as traffic came to a crawl on various streets in the city a day before the arrival of US president George W. Bush in Dubai.

Naser Barayil, an Indian and the general manager of a company, said it took him three and a half hours to get through "just a few kilometers" at midday on Sunday. "I left my bank on Muraqqabat Road at 12 to make a transaction at another bank in Bur Dubai. I reached my destination at 3.30pm, by which time the bank had closed," he said.

A diabetes patient, Barayil said he missed his midday meal, "which can have a negative effect on my health". "If I had known about this, I wouldn't have gone on the road. It's as simple as that."

Flouting the rules

Frustration from waiting in traffic jams for hours led some motorists to flout traffic rules.

Some motorists were seen using the hard shoulder to reach their destinations faster. A.J, a Dubai resident, said he left his apartment on Shaikh Zayed Road to find that he "moved a couple of feet in 20 minutes" in the traffic, upon which he decided to make a U-turn on the one-way road and head back home on the hard shoulder.

Many residents said they paid up to Dh60 for travelling by taxi from Bur Dubai to Shaikh Zayed Road and the trip took over two hours.

Civil Aviation officials advised passengers to arrive at the airport well in advance of departure time.