Dubai: Travelling to and from Dubai International City (DIC) is a breeze now as phase one of the Dh400-million roads upgrade in and around the densely populated neighbourhood opened for traffic on Friday.
The project, being carried out in two phases, is expected to improve traffic flow, reduce journey times and boost safety.
Supporting more than 110,000 residents and 200,000 visitors, the project includes widened roads, new flyovers and multi-tier interchanges as well as upgraded signalised junctions around Dragon City, International City and Warsan Village.
For the DIC residents, who have long been facing traffic jams and congestions, the new roads have opened up a new horizon.
“It’s a breeze. I just can’t believe its over. We have been waiting this for so long and I am happy its finally over. I used the new flyovers and it is amazing, no more tailbacks,” said Sarah Joseph, an International City resident.
Before the new roads opened, the exits and entries to the sprawling neighbourhood, especially during the morning and evening peak hours, would be often clogged, leaving commuters gasping for space.
Phase one of the project includes two flyovers, one leading into DIC from Al Awir road heading from the direction of Hatta and the other exiting from DIC towards Downtown Dubai.
The flyovers, with a capacity of 1,000 vehicles per hour, are expected to cut down travel time from DIC to Downtown Dubai by half.
Being built in collaboration with Nakheel, the master developer of DIC, the project will help cater to increasing traffic, particularly after the expansion of Dragon Mart, said Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA.
The projects also includes an interchange in the form of a two-lane flyover from Warsan (1) Street to Al Awir Road westward in the direction of Dubai Downtown.
It will enable turns for traffic running from Al Awir Road to Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road, free traffic movement from Hatta to Dubai via Al Awir Road directly to Warsan (1) Street and entrances to the International City and Dragon Mart through a one-lane bridge.
It also includes a three-lane service road parallel to Al Awir Road in both directions to ensure free traffic movement, separating it from traffic of International City, Dragon Mart and Al Warqaa.
The project has also seen the four primary roundabouts of the International City (International City Street-1) turned into signalised junctions, and widening of the existing roads by adding one or two lanes in some sectors.
According to a traffic study conducted by Nakheel, more than 182,000 vehicles currently move in and out of the area every day, a figure which is set to grow as expansions at International City and Dragon Mart continue.
Considering the growing demand, the master-developer is also exploring further traffic enhancement schemes, such as increased parking spaces within International City.
Phase Two
Access to and from DIC will further ease when work on more interchanges are completed as part of phase two of the project.
The Dh193-million phase two is currently under way, which includes upgrading of the intersection connecting Al Manama Street and Nouakchott Street as well as upgrading Al Manama Street and Mohammad Bin Zayed Road interchange and Al Manama Street and 414 Street interchange, which is the main entrance to the International City.
Phase two will also see widening of the flyover passing over Mohammad Bin Zayed Road from three to four lanes in each direction, which, according to RTA, will increase the capacity of the bridge from 4,500 vehicles per hour to 6,000 vehicles per hour.
Additionally, a stretch of Al Manama Street between Mohammad Bin Zayed Road and the entrance of the International City will be expanded from three to six lanes in each direction.
