This new Fujairah road plays music when driven over; first of its kind in the region

Motorists are enjoying this unexpected musical addition to their journey

On this episode of ‘Only in the UAE‘, Sheikh Khalifa Street in Fujairah has a brand new feature and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. A 750 metre stretch of the road has been converted into a sort of musical ramp so that when cars drive over it steadily, it plays Beethoven’s Ninth symphony.

Being called the first of its kind, not only in the UAE, but also in the Arab region, the musical street is located at the entrance to Fujairah city before the Fujairah Court, just before the Fujairah Police Headquarters.

The installation was done by the Fujairah Fine Arts Academy, a project undertaken to promote the arts in public spaces and bring music into our daily lives, and has turned into a tourist attraction of sorts, with motorists flocking to the site to drive over and test it for themselves, and of course, post about it on social media.

According to a report done by Khaleej Times, Ali Obaid Al Hafiti, Director of the Fujairah Fine Arts Academy, has confirmed that the project will be permanent and said that they chose Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for this one since it’s a universally recognised composition. He added that plans are underway to launch similar installations in other areas of the emirate featuring local musical compositions.

How does it work?

Reportedly, specially-engineered ‘rumble strips’ have been embedded in the road surface and play a portion of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as cars drive over them at a steady speed, the recommended of which is 105 km/h.

They look like any inconspicuous zebra crossing or road marking, just white strips placed one after the other, but the vibrations are making the music happen. The spacing and depth of the grooves determine the pitch and rhythm, allowing the road to ‘play’ what sounds like music.

Images: Socials