A major upgrade of a key Dubai transport link which aims to boost road safety, increase vehicle capacity and slash travel times by more than half is gathering pace.
Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority on Sunday said construction of the Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Corridor Improvement scheme was now three quarters complete.
The project spans 8 kilometres of Ras Al Khor Road, from the intersection of Dubai-Al Ain Road to the intersection of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road.
The works include building four bridges, widening Ras Al Khor Road from three to four lanes in each direction and creating two-lane service roads on both sides.
“The project aims to increase the capacity of Ras Al Khor Road to 10,000 vehicles per hour, slash the travel time from 20 minutes to about seven minutes, enhance traffic safety and flow, and eliminate the existing overlapping traffic spots," said Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the RTA.
"The project serves a host of major development projects inhabited by 650,000 residents, namely The Lagoons, Dubai Creek, Meydan Horizon, Ras Al Khor, Al Wasl and Nad Al Hamar Complex.
“The project also includes improving the intersection of Nad Al Hamar Road with Ras Al Khor Road to enhance its capacity to 30,000 vehicles per hour by constructing a two-lane bridge extending 988 metres to enable free left-side turns of traffic inbound from Nad Al Hamar Road heading in the direction of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road.
"It also involves the construction of another two-lane bridge extending 115 metres to serve the traffic inbound from Nad Al Hamar heading to Ras Al Khor Road heading in the direction of Dubai-Al Ain Road. Works also include the construction of a two-lane tunnel extending 368 metres to enable right-side turns from Ras Al Khor Road to Nad Al Hamar, improving the existing intersection and widening the existing turns.”
Mr Al Tayer said the project was one of the biggest undertaken by the authority and would be carried out in several phases.
“In future, it will include the construction of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing; a bridge crossing over the Dubai Creek to link Al Jaddaf in Bur Dubai with the street extending between Dubai Creek Project and Dubai Festival City," he said.
“Last year, RTA completed the construction of a three-lane bridge extending 740 metres leading to the Western entrance to Dubai Creek-Dubai Creek Harbour. The bridge connects the traffic inbound from Dubai-Al Ain Road and Al Khail Road, heading East to the Dubai Creek-Dubai Creek Harbour, with a capacity of 7,500 incoming vehicles per hour.
“RTA has also constructed a new 1.5-kilometre road of four lanes in each direction, along with entry and exit points to and from the newly completed areas and buildings to facilitate the movement of traffic inbound from Nad Al Hamar-Ras Al Khor Roads intersection.
“The new roads and bridges network contributed to streamlining the traffic flow to the newly completed housing units at Dubai Creek, by linking them with the surrounding roads. The new roads were also fitted with a lighting network of 108 streetlight poles."
The transport chief said construction work was under way on a 640-metre bridge to connect Ras Al Khor Road with the Dubai Creek Harbour.
The bridge will have the capacity to serve more than 3,000 vehicles per hour.
