Dubai's transport authority offers update on project to reduce travel time in city

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that work is almost half way complete on a key project that will significantly reduce the journey time in one of the city's busiest areas.

The Al Shindagha Corridor improvement project is estimated to serve about one million people and is set to reduce journey time from 104 minutes to 16 minutes by 2030.

The Dh5.3 billion ($1.44 billion) project is aimed at serving the needs of urban growth along the corridor, the authority said.

The scheme includes a 4.8km stretch along Sheikh Rashid Road, from the intersection with Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street to the Falcon Interchange on Al Mina Road.

It involves the construction of three bridges spanning 3.1km in total, capable of accommodating 19,400 vehicles per hour across all lanes.

The project is said to be one of the largest ones of its kind currently being implemented by the RTA.

Mattar Al Tayer, director general, chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA Dubai said: "Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project, which spans 13 km along Sheikh Rashid Road, Al Mina Street, Al Khaleej Street, and Cairo Street, aims to facilitate free traffic movement along the corridor, enhance the capacity, and step-up traffic safety.

"The project, which serves about one million people, is set to reduce journey time from 104 minutes to 16 minutes by 2030.

"It involves the development of 15 intersections along 13 km and due to its scale, it has been split into five phases."

The project serves Deira and Bur Dubai, Dubai Islands, Dubai Waterfront, Dubai Maritime City, and Mina Rashid.

Project includes construction of three bridges

Mr Al Tayer said that the first contract of Phase 4 included the construction of a 1,335-metre-long bridge, with a capacity of three lanes in each direction, to ensure a smooth traffic flow between Sheikh Rashid and the Falcon Intersection. The bridge has a capacity of 10,800 vehicles per hour in both directions.

He said the second bridge extends 780 metres with a capacity of three lanes to serve traffic coming from the Falcon Intersection heading to Al Wasl Road with a capacity of 5400 vehicles per hour.

The third bridge is a two-lane bridge extending 985 metres to serve traffic coming from Jumeirah Street heading to Al Mina Street in the direction of the Falcon Intersection, with a capacity of 3,200 vehicles per hour.