Dubai: The traffic between Al Garhoud Bridge and Sharjah should flow freely once the second phase of the Al Ittihad Road Improvement and Widening Project is completed over the next few months.
It involves completion of work on the Al Shola'a Interchange at the intersection of Shaikh Rashid Road and the Airport Road in Deira, as well as the improvement of roads and the addition of lanes on the Shaikh Rashid Road as far as Al Garhoud Bridge.
At present, motorists commuting between Sharjah and Dubai face long delays at the Shola'a Interchange due to massive construction work and road diversions.
The rescheduled project is now expected to open in December.The roads leading to and from Al Garhoud Bridge towards Al Ittihad Road are also being widened to create an eight-lane expressway for Salik users and drivers commuting between Sharjah and Dubai.
It includes the development of an eight-lane expressway, on a 7.5-kilometre stretch of road, between Al Nahda interchange near Sharjah and Al Garhoud Bridge.
This includes the widening of Al Ittihad Road from Sharjah to the border of Dubai, as far as the Airport Road. The project also includes construction of Al Qiyada interchange (Galadari intersection) and Al Nahda interhchange (Al Mulla Plaza intersection).
The work on the second phase of the Al Ittihad Road Widening Project, which started in early 2007, was due to be completed late last year but it was delayed due to technical issues.He added that the project is a significant one as it's aimed at easing traffic congestion on roads, which provide a vital link between Dubai and Sharjah.
The traffic flow between Sharjah and Dubai is expected to be very smooth once the project is finished. The capacity of the road will increase from 8,000 vehicles per hour to 12,000 vehicles per hour, in each direction. The total number of vehicles currently using this road exceeds 250,000 vehicles per day.
"Limited working hours in some areas, from 12am to 5am, relocation of utility services [maps of some of which are not available] and traffic jams are just some of the causes of delays in the completion of the work," an RTA official said.
However, the project will contribute significantly to easing traffic congestion on this key road, particularly during the morning and evening peak hours which is important given that the road is one of the most congested highways in Dubai.
A senior RTA official told Gulf News that the first phase of the Dh900 million project opened last year easing traffic between Sharjah and Dubai.
