Key Al Quoz road almost complete
dubai — Indian expat and Dubai resident Renjith Ramakrishnan has been complaining in recent months that a 7-km drive from his work at a car showroom near Times Square Mall to his residence at Al Khail Gate community was taking him more than 30 minutes during evening peak hours. With the usual bottleneck and detours, driving back home had become circuitous for him. Recently, the barriers have been removed and he was surprised to see the usual road, which got wider than before.
The ongoing road construction is part of a project linking Jumeirah with Al Khail Road and it is almost done with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) making final touches to the two-level bridge road from Umm Al Sheef Street to Al Wasl Street, crossing over Sheikh Zayed Road and up to Latifa Bint Hamdan Street.
Ramakrishnan and other motorists are now eager to use the soonto-be-opened Latifa Bint Hamdan and Umm Al Sheef Streets Improvement Project built at a cost of Dh800 million. They are hopeful that the heavy traffic that they have been experiencing for months will be a thing of the past.
According to the RTA, “the project will address the growing traffic volumes, and ease the mobility in various parts of Dubai. It also complements RTA’s strategic plan for improving vertical traffic corridors such as the Airport Street, Tripoli Street, Al Yalayes Street and Al Asayel Street”.
A resident of Al Khail Gate community, Filipino expat Susan Francisco, told Khaleej Times: “It’s now a big relief for us. There is still slight inconvenience but I hope everything will be streamlined very soon. The only problem now is that lanes have been changed again and I have to get used to this latest traffic flow.”
Arun Parambath, another resident, added: “Going to Sheikh Zayed Road from Al Khail Gate community will be a breeze but hopefully there will be a signal and lane before the bridge that will lead to our residence if we are coming from the opposite direction, from Al Khail Road.”
Another motorist, Zafar Mahmoud, who lives near Al Khail Mall, for his part is looking at the larger picture how the project will help promote the other growth corridors in Dubai. “I have been a resident in the area for almost eight years and I’ve witnessed how road improvements have helped develop our community. Our area used to be for workers and bachelors accommodation only but now it has become more accessible to families,” Mahmoud said.
“The new bridge and road improvement will not only help me ease going to my office but also improve the over-all connectivity of Dubai and its other growth corridors,” he added.
78% drop in road congestion
The project also covers the improvement of Al Qouz entrances as well as several development projects. The intersection of Al AsayelLatifa Bint Hamdan Streets has
It’s now a big relief for us. There is still slight inconvenience but I hope everything will be streamlined soon. The only problem now is that lanes have been changed again.”
Susan Francisco, Filipino resident
Going to Sheikh Zayed from Al Khail Gate community will be a breeze but hopefully there will be a signal and lane before the bridge that will lead to our residence .
Arun Parambath, resident, Al Khail Gate community
been transformed from a surface signallised junction into a multilevel interchange.
The surface intersection will reduce the waiting time from three minutes to less than one minute, which will alleviate the congestion by 78 per cent during evening peak hours and enhance the capacity of the intersection by 40 per cent, according to the RTA.
The project also includes improvement of the intersection with Al Khail Road by adding a ramp to serve the traffic movement heading north to Al Khail Road and the Business Bay Crossing to ease the existing congestion at Al Khail Road intersection.
In recent months, I had to drive for more than 30 minutes from my workplace near the Times Square to reach my residence at Al Khail Gate community.” Renjith Ramakrishnan, Indian expat