Begone traffic, begone…

Some major traffic news for you this Monday morning – two new major bridges have been opened by the RTA as part of the Garn Al Sabkha – Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road Intersection Improvement Project. This new move could travel time on the road by up to 70 per cent – it sounds like a dream, but seemingly not anymore.

The bridges open in the direction of Al Qusais and Jebel Ali. The first one is a 2-lane bridge, spanning 601 metres and holding a capacity of 3,200 vehicles per hour. This will serve the traffic going eastward, from Garn Al Sabkha Street to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, and northward towards Al Qusais and Deira.

Estimates are saying the bridge will cut travel time during the peak-hour journey from 20 minutes to 12 minutes, a full 40 per cent.


The second one is also a 2-lane bridge, about 664 metres and managing traffic coming from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road heading southward towards Al Yalayis Street and Jebel Ali Port. This bridge will accommodate 3,200 vehicles per hour. It will eliminate overlapping of traffic coming from this direction.

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With this one, travel time is expected to reduce from 21 minutes to 7 minutes, slashing it a full 70 per cent.

A third and final bridge is also meant to open soon as part of the project to complete it. This bridge will open in October and is aimed at easing traffic between Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road.

The bridge will span 943 metres, with two lanes in each direction, and will be able to handle 8,000 vehicles per hour in total.

Brand new features are also being added to the road network in this area as part of the improvement project, including new street lights, traffic signals, traffic management systems, storm water drainage networks, and irrigation systems.

@rta_dubai

Images: Getty