Watch: AED 374 million Dubai project to ease traffic on key roads

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a AED 374 million contract for the Garn Al Sabkha Street - Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road Intersection Improvement Project.

The scope of the project covers the construction of four bridges, spanning 3,000 metres, capable of carrying 17,600 vehicles per hour.

"This project is part of a larger initiative to improve Garn Al Sabkha Street Corridor that connects Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Roads. Its goal is to guarantee that traffic flows smoothly between Sheikh Zayed Road, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, First Al Khail Street, and Al Asayel Street," said Mattar Al Tayer, Director General & Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA.

Once completed, the project will reduce transit distance and travel time by 40 per cent between Garn Al Sabkha Street and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road in the direction of Al Qusais and Sharjah, reducing peak hour journey time from 20 minutes to just 12 minutes.

It will also reduce the journey time by 70 per cent for vehicles heading from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road rightward to Al Yalayis Road in the direction of Jebel Ali Port from 21 minutes to 7 minutes.

.@rta_dubai has awarded a contract for Garn Al Sabkha Street Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road Intersection Improvement Project. The scope of the project covers the construction of 4 bridges, spanning 3,000 meters capable of carrying 17,600 vehicles per hour. The project has an… pic.twitter.com/1aSr8yIDoR

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) July 2, 2023

Four bridges are being built as part of this project. One is a two-lane 960-metre bridge at the intersection of Garn Al Sabkha Street and Al Asayel Street, which can handle 8,000 vehicles per hour in both directions and facilitates a smooth traffic flow between Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road.

The second is a 660-metre bridge of two lanes serving traffic from Garn Al Sabkha Street westwards heading to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road in the direction of Al Qusais and Sharjah. This bridge can handle 3,200 vehicles per hour.

The third is a two-lane 700-metre bridge to streamline the traffic flow and eliminate the overlapping traffic from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road heading northward to Al Yalayis Road in the direction of Jebel Ali Port. This bridge can accommodate 3,200 vehicles per hour.

The fourth is a two-lane bridge spanning 680 metres that would ensure smooth traffic flow and prevent the overlapping traffic from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road to the service road leading to Dubai Production City.

This bridge has a capacity of 3,200 vehicles per hour.

The scope of the overall project also includes 7 km of roadwork, enhancing surface intersections on the service road running parallel to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, as well as street lighting, traffic signals and systems, rainwater drainage networks, and irrigation system networks.

The Garn Al Sabkha - Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Roads Intersection Improvement Project is part of the RTA's master plan to upgrade strategic road corridors to the East and the West such as Al Yalayis and Expo Roads, which were completed a few years ago.