Dubai: New roads linking Al Riyadh and Oud Metha streets, expected to open to traffic by the middle of this year, will ease traffic woes in the Rashid Hospital area, Mattar Al Tayer, Executive Director of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said yesterday.
The new roads are part of the Dh700 million Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project, which is scheduled to be completed by mid-2013.
The RTA has completed about 70 per cent of the Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project, he said in a statement. In February 2010, Al Tayer had announced that 50 per cent of the project had been completed.
Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project is part of RTA's masterplan which aims to ease traffic congestion in the highly clogged vicinity of Rashid Hospital.
"Once completed, the capacity of the roads in the areas surrounding the project will increase to about 6,000 vehicles per hour," Al Tayer said.
Four-lane street
The project comprises the construction of roads and two two-lane tunnels to serve the traffic inbound from Tariq Bin Ziyad and Umm Harir streets and heading towards the intersection of Al Riyadh street with the extension of the Floating Bridge.
The first tunnel begins from Tariq Bin Ziyad Street and passes underneath Al Maktoum Bridge. The second tunnel begins from Umm Harir Street and passes across Oud Metha Park.
The two tunnels merge to form a four-lane street heading towards Al Riyadh Street via Rashid Hospital. The new link will provide an easy link to motorists using the Floating Bridge.
The project encompasses converting the junction of Al Riyadh Street and Floating Bridge Extension into a four-lane traffic route, widening Tariq Bin Ziyad Street, improving Oud Metha and Umm Harir Streets, and constructing a road to handle the traffic inbound from the Floating Bridge and heading towards Tariq Bin Ziyad street.
Easing traffic flow
"In the middle of this year, the RTA will open the surface roads linking Al Riyadh Street and Oud Metha which serve Rashid Hospital and Dubai Media Inc. This step will ease the traffic flow and ease the congestion in the area between Al Riyadh and Oud Metha Streets," he said. "The project contractor has finalised all infrastructure and utility works, including those related to Dewa, sewage services and etisalat."
Work on the vehicles and pedestrian tunnels have also been completed, the statement said.
Detailing the progress, Al Tayer said that 60 per cent of the rainwater drainage networks, 90 per cent of the electromechanical tunnel works and about 50 per cent of the road, light signals and lighting works have been completed.
