Dubai: New Initiative Cuts Garn Al Sabkha To Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road Journey By 8 Minutes

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) inaugurated two significant bridges on September 15, enhancing the Garn Al Sabkha-Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road Intersection. The first bridge, a two-lane structure spanning 601 metres, can handle 3,200 vehicles per hour. It facilitates eastbound traffic from Garn Al Sabkha Street to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, then northward towards Al Qusais and Deira.

The second bridge, also with two lanes and spanning 664 metres, eliminates traffic overlap from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road heading south towards Al Yalayis Street and Jebel Ali Port. This bridge is designed to accommodate 3,200 vehicles per hour, ensuring smoother traffic flow.

All project works are scheduled for completion this October with the opening of the final bridge. This bridge will connect Garn Al Sabkha Street with Al Asayel Street. Spanning 943 metres with two lanes in each direction, it is designed to handle a total of 8,000 vehicles per hour. This will ensure seamless traffic flow between Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors at RTA, stated that the project completion rate had reached 97 percent. He noted that the project is a crucial link between Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road. It facilitates traffic flow between these roads as well as First Al Khail Road and Al Asayel Street.

The project aims to reduce travel time significantly. "Upon completion, the project will reduce the distance and journey time from Garn Al Sabkha Street to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road towards Al Qusais and Deira by 40 percent," said Al Tayer. This will cut travel time from 20 minutes to 12 minutes during peak hours.

Additionally, motorists travelling from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road to Al Yalayis Street towards Jebel Ali Port will see a reduction in journey time by 70 percent. The travel time will decrease from 21 minutes to just 7 minutes.

The project includes road works spanning seven kilometres. These improvements cover surface intersections on the service road parallel to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road. Upgrades also include streetlights, traffic signals, traffic systems, stormwater drainage networks, and irrigation systems.

Last June, RTA opened another two-lane bridge extending 666 metres with a capacity of 3,200 vehicles per hour. This bridge helped eliminate traffic overlap from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road to the service road leading to Jumeirah Golf Estates and Dubai Production City.

The Garn Al Sabkha-Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road Intersection Improvement Project is part of RTA’s master plan for developing strategic east-west traffic corridors and arterial roads. These include recently completed projects like Al Yalayis Street and Expo Street. These corridors support Dubai’s mobility networks and serve numerous development projects on both sides while accommodating current and future traffic volumes.

The entire project involves constructing four bridges stretching a total of 2,874 metres with a capacity of handling up to 17,600 vehicles per hour. These enhancements are expected to significantly improve traffic flow across key routes in Dubai.

With inputs from WAM