New traffic easing network in Sharjah to be ready for school year

Dh200 million Al Badiya Bridge Project is improving the Emirates Road and Sharjah-Meleiha motorway junction

The E611 will be widened between the Al Dhaid Road turn-off and the Sharjah-Meleiha junction.  Antonie Robertson / The National

Improvements at a junction linking Dubai to Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah will be ready by the start of the school year.

The next phase of the Dh200 million Al Badiya Bridge Project involves the construction of slip roads for travellers heading to the east coast from Dubai and for motorists heading north to Ras Al Kahimah and beyond.

The project will see the widening of the E611 Emirates Road from three lanes to six and traffic at the junction up to Al Dhaid Road. It will accommodate about 18,000 vehicles per hour.

During a tour, Dr Abduallah Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development, said the project will be completed in several phases and will be open before the beginning of the upcoming academic year.

“The new project is part of the country’s overall efforts to develop its road and bridge networks, cope with growing level of traffic and improve transportation movement,” said Dr Al Nuaimi.

Motorists said they will be pleased when the improvements are open.

Nour Mohammed, a Lebanese mother-of-two, 34, was thrilled to hear about the bridge that will connect Sharjah to Dubai.

“I drop my two children, aged 6 and 8, to school in Dubai. It’s a nightmare to drive during traffic peak hours five days a week.

"I am hoping the new project will reduce the long trip to drop my children. I live in Al Qasimia area in Sharjah and driving towards Mirdif area in the morning takes around two hours.

"It takes a maximum of 40 minutes to reach Mirdif when there is no school,” said Mrs Mohammed.

Khalid Adil, a taxi driver in Sharjah, said the new bridge will also ease traffic in other hotspots.

“Once the school year is back, traffic will return to its crazy days. At the moment, I spend a short while reaching my customer’s destinations,” he said.

“I usually witness the projects and other road’ developments in the country. At the beginning we see improvement and traffic flow becomes smooth, but traffic jams return to the way it was before a few months later,” said Mr Adil.