RTA says new Dh1.2bn Dubai road contracts will improve links to Jebel Ali port

Contracts will ease congestion to and from Jebel Ali Port by boosting capacity on links to Sheikh Zayed Road, Mohammed Bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road

The projects should connect Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road with other main arteries in the south-western part of the city. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

A pair of contracts have been awarded for new road projects in Dubai worth almost Dh1.2 billion.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a Dh393 million contract to build the 7th interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road, which involves construction of a four-lane bridge above Sheikh Zayed Road, and a Dh792m contract to build parallel roads from the Interchange that will provide improved links to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road, easing traffic congestion in the area.

It will also improve the movement of goods to and from DP World’s Jebel Ali port.

The 7th Interchange project involves the construction of a new bridge over Sheikh Zayed Road linking from Jebel Ali Port via Dubal Road on one side of the interchange through to Al Yalayis Road on the other.

It will add two lanes from Sheikh Zayed Road turning onto Al Yalayis Road from the east, and two lanes from Al Yal­ayis Road onto Sheikh Zayed Road from the west. Traffic light signals from Gates 1 and 2 at Jebel Ali port will also be improved.

The parallel roads project involves the widening of Al Yalayis Road from three lanes in each direction to six, boosting the capacity of the number of vehicles that can travel on it in each direction to 10,000 per hour. The upgrade involves a 6km-long stretch from the 7th Interchange on to Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road.

Under the same contract, a new 5km stretch will be added to Al Asayel Road, extending from Emirates Hills through Jumeirah Islands on to Jebel Ali Free Zone. New feeder roads will also be built at intersections between Al Yalayis Road, Al Asayel Road and First Al Khail Road, including two new fly­overs. A two-lane flyover across Al Asayel Road will link Qarn Al Sabkha Road to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, improving access to the Al Furjan community.

Space has also been created to accommodate the future Etihad Rail project

The RTA did not say which firms have been awarded the contracts. However, it is understood that Wade Adams has already begun working on the 7th Interchange project.

China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East's chairman Yu Tao told The National last month that it had been awarded the Dh792m parallel roads project.

Mattar Al Tayer, the director-general and chairman of the RTA, said the new projects “are prompted by Dubai’s sustained development, and the need to meet the requirements of growth and urban development”.

“These are also part of the road projects approved for easing mobility and accessibility to the site of Expo 2020,” he said.

The RTA also said that it had recently completed the final phase of the Dh228m Al Houdh Interchange project at the Al Houdh roundabout linking Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Al Yalayis Road.

The work has also involved widening Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road from this intersection to the new Al Maktoum Airport road.

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