Traffic snarls in downtown RAK will soon be history
ras al khaimah — Traffic snarls at downtown Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) will be a history by next year, according to a top official.
The Ministry of Infrastructure Development (MoID) will complete the ongoing three-phased RAK Ring Road project next year. The Emirates Road in the emirate has been carried out in different phases; the first of which was 26km long, and completed at a cost of Dh320 million.
However, the road will only open for traffic after the completion of second phase.
Eng. Ahmed Al Hammadi, roads manager at the ministry, said that the second phase of the Emirates Road works will be completed by the first quarter of 2018. He added that the two-direction road consists of three lanes each, along with a middle road island that can be used in building a fourth lane in each direction in the future as needed.
“The ministry of infrastructure development has also decided to build a new bridge on the RAK International Airport Road at the Suhaila area,” he added.
The Dh90million second phase of the road work extends from Shamal area to the Martyrs road.
The new road will be connecting a number of new residential areas — Sheikh Khalifa city, Buteen Al Samar, Al Hamraniya, Awafi, Al Daqdaqa, Suhaila, Al Seeh, and Shamal, — that are under construction, Al Hammadi added.
In the third and last phase, the new road will connect another road being constructed between Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road and ld Ittihad road at the Al Jazirat Al Hamra, which will ease access to the Sheikh Khalifa specialty hospital for cancer treatment, the roads manager said.
Once the entire Emirates Road project is completed, it will connect the three major roads in the region — Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Old Ittihad Road and Martyrs Road. The new road will give the residents of northern areas quick access to the highways that link the emirate with Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and other nearby emirates.
“The road will also ease traffic congestion at the RAK downtown and the traffic snarls at downtown will be history during peak hours,” Al Hammadi said.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com