Dubai: Traffic snarls on the Trade Centre roundabout will soon be history as the parallel road linking First Al Khail Road (Road 312) with Shaikh Rashid Road will open by the end of this year, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced.
The link, which includes flyovers and ramps stretching for 4.2 kilometres, will help establish a free flowing alternative to Shaikh Zayed Road, helping traffic from the Business Bay area and First Al Khail Road to reach Garhoud and Maktoum bridges without any hassle.
“The project is the main continued connectivity link of the West Parallel Corridor where it will link to Shaikh Rashid Road leading to Oud Metha Road, Garhoud Bridge and Al Maktoum Bridge, the project will help divert traffic from Shaikh Zayed Road considerably,” said Maitha Bin Udai, CEO of the RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency.
The project, part of a wider Parallel Roads project that aims to provide viable alternatives to Shaikh Zayed Road, includes two parallel viaducts consisting of 22 precast concrete slabs and a flyover with a total length of 4,236 metres.
Using a segmental bridges construction technique at a cost of Dh719 million, the project will provide three exits leading traffic to different directions, without causing a jam.
“The South bridge, which starts opposite the Dubai World Trade Centre Convention Gate, will serve direct traffic from Shaikh Rashid Road to First Al Khail Road. The North bridge will serve direct traffic movement from First Al Khail Road to three exits, the first leading to Maktoum Bridge, the second to Oud Metha Road [east] and the third exit leading to Garhoud Bridge,” added Maitha.
Another flyover, the third East Bridge will provide free traffic movement between Shaikh Rashid Road and Wafi Interchange.
Also part of the project will a four-legged signalised junction extending from First Al Khail Road to Al Majlis Road.
An estimated 80 per cent work on the project has been completed and Maitha confirmed that the project will be open for traffic by the end of this year.
The parallel roads project is a major undertaking by the RTA to provide a slew of alternative road networks from different areas that includes free flowing West and East corridors.
The project spans roads at Al Barsha, and Al Qouz Industrial and residential areas and stretches from Hessa Road to the south and Meydan Road to the north, extending 15 kilometre in the Eastern Parallel Road and 18 kilometre in the Western Parallel Road, comprising three lanes in each direction.
The project intersects several arterial and express roads such as Umm Suqeim Road, Latifa Bint Hamdan Road in addition to internal roads consisting of 25 signalised junctions.
In Phase III (B) of the project, the RTA has opened roads that pass across sprawling urban developments in areas such as Jebel Ali Racecourse, Emirates Hills, The Springs, The Meadows, Jumeirah Islands and Jumeirah Park. The project also includes several key roads in the Business Bay area situated between the Financial Centre Road to the North, Meydan Road to the South, Al Khail Road to the East and Shaikh Zayed Road to the West.
It also includes a major tunnel running under the Downtown Dubai area from Business Bay to First Al Khail Road.
