DUBAI // The rush-hour traffic negotiating one of Dubai's most congested black spots was yesterday free-flowing for the first time in years. The new Dh410 million (US$111m) Arabian Ranches Interchange, which opened at the weekend, has brought relief to motorists who are used to facing frustrating delays caught up in heavy traffic jams at the junction of Emirates, Umm Suqeim and Al Qudrah roads. The old roundabout - often referred to as Dubailand Roundabout and the bane of many a commuter's life - has finally made way for a giant new road interchange consisting of 11 flyover bridges and an underpass. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) regards it as one of its most important traffic improvement schemes to date. Thought to be the largest road interchange in the region, the new junction opened to the public on Friday, but yesterday was its first real test as thousands of commuters embarked on their normally fraught journeys to and from work. At 7.30am, the usual queues of gridlocked traffic on the approach roads to the junction had given way to fast-moving vehicles travelling unhampered in all directions. Samuel Hacon, an engineer based on the Palm Jumeirah, said the interchange had reduced his morning commute by 20 minutes. "I live at the Arabian Ranches and I've always faced delays in the mornings and invariably coming back as well," he said. "I come out of the Ranches and head down Umm Suqeim Road, and there's always a big queue on the run-up to the roundabout. "But this morning was bliss - I just went straight across without having to stop or even slow down, it was brilliant. That was at about eight o'clock. It cut my journey by a good 20 minutes; I hope it's like that every day." Another Arabian Ranches resident, Wes Chung, said: "It's early days but my drive to work along Emirates Road to Jebel Ali was certainly a lot quicker and easier than usual. It was bizarre actually - there was just hardly any traffic around, whereas normally it's chaotic there. "There are just so many trucks on Emirates Road, which used to slow everything down at that roundabout. Hopefully, that's a thing of the past now." Priyesh Maharajapuram, an accountant who lives at International City, drives along Emirates Road every day before turning off on to Umm Suqeim Road and heading for work in Dubai Internet City. He is used to hefty delays caused by the Dubailand Roundabout, and has often arrived late for work as a result. "Today was my easiest trip to work ever since I moved to International City in March," he said. "Instead of having to join a big line of cars, I just found myself on a flyover and didn't even have to stop. "I think this was definitely money well spent by the RTA, and should make things easier for a lot of people like me." Construction of the ambitious interchange began two years ago and since then, motorists using the roundabout have had to cope with a frequently shifting landscape of temporary junctions, diversions and coned-off lanes. The evening rush hour was also remarkably clear, a picture of free-flowing traffic with no delays visible at 6pm. The ongoing road expansion work caused a slight build-up of traffic on the new flyover taking cars from Umm Suqeim Road on to Al Qudrah Road. In addition to the interchange itself, a key part of the road improvement scheme has been the widening of the roads that converge at the Arabian Ranches junction. A 2.5km stretch of Umm Suqeim Road - a vital link between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road - has been doubled in width from four to eight lanes. A Dh333 million scheme to expand Emirates Road from three to six lanes in each direction between the Arabian Ranches and the Dubai-Sharjah border was completed in April. This has significantly reduced congestion on the 32km stretch of road, which is used by about 20,000 vehicles per hour. Work is ongoing to widen Al Qudrah Road from two to four lanes in each direction as far as the junction with the Bypass Road. Two temporary light signals to serve Auto City and Dubai Studios City were set up to control traffic during this phase. Yesterday, electronic indicators on Dubai's main roads flashed information notifying motorists that the new interchange was open, and urged them to take advantage of the new route. "I saw the information on the electronic boards on Sheikh Rashid Road and I decided to drive through the interchange. There is a visible difference," said Adel Kanara, a driver in Dubai. Metha bin Adai, the chief executive of the RTA's Traffic and Roads Agency, recently described the Arabian Ranches Interchange as one of the most important projects carried out by the RTA in Dubai. @email:arichardson@thenational.ae @email:pmenon@thenational.ae
