Dubai: For the past 25 years, Bangladeshi expat Mohammed Nasiruddin has only seen heavy traffic on the roads between Al Shindagha Tunnel and the Hyatt signal in Deira.
Sunday morning threw up a different scenario after Dubai’s landmark Infinity Bridge opened to motorists and the 46-year-old Shindagha Tunnel was closed on one side for two months to link it with the new bridge.
As Gulf News drove around the Infinity Bridge and also crossed the Shindagha Tunnel from Bur Dubai to Deira to expereince the change, we witnessed an almost empty tunnel that used to have chock-a-block traffic during peak hours.
“I have not seen this main road with so less traffic any time in the past 25 years, except when there was some maintenance work,” shopkeeper Nasiruddin told Gulf News as we met him right after crossing the tunnel.
“Usually, there is more traffic on this road over the weekends. It is a surprise sight for us today being a holiday,” said Nasiruddin, who runs a kandoora shop on Ayal Nasir Street.
Sayeed Ahmed, who runs a readymade garment shop on the service road right opposite the Gold Souq Metro Bus Station, said he initially thought that the Shindagha Tunnel was closed on both sides.
“I always sit outside the shop when there is no customer. I couldn’t see cars coming out of the tunnel and I thought even this side of the tunnel is closed. It is a new experience not to see traffic on the main road in front of my shop like this. There used to be a constant flow of vehicles on this road even at 1am,” the Indian expat said.
Mohammed Ramshad, who works in another readymade garment shop on Sabkha Road, said traffic from Shindagha Tunnel piles up at Hyatt traffic signal and spills over to Naif signal.
“These areas are always busy. It is nice to see smooth flowing traffic outside,” said the Indian expat, who has been working in the same shop for seven years.
In 1972, late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the then Ruler of Dubai, signed an agreement in the UK for the construction of the Tunnel and made Sir William Halcrow and Partners in charge of building the direct link between Deira and Bur Dubai.
The Al Shindagha Tunnel that runs underwater was opened in December 1975 with two lanes in each direction.
The Tunnel was one of the busiest crossings on the Creek with more than 110,000 vehicles plying through it daily when the plan for the new bridge was first announced in 2014.
The iconic tunnel which has a lifespan of 50 years has undergone periodic maintenance.
More business expected
Traders in the surrounding areas believe the new bridge will bring in more business.
“Customers from Bur Dubai and beyond would hesitate to come this side sometimes due to traffic and parking issues. I think this bridge will change that. More people will drive down to this area and we will get more business,” said Nasiruddin.
Ramshad said less traffic on the main road will also contribute to more parking slots around the streets.
“When there is more parking, more people will come to shops in our area,” he said.
