Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) opened on Sunday the flyover that connects Ras Al Khor and Nad Al Hamar Roads, as part of Phase II of the Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Corridor Improvement Project, which extends from the intersection of Ras Al Khor Road with Nad Al Hamar Road to the intersection of Ras Al Khor Road with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road. Construction includes bridges and underpasses that span 1,471 metres, which will ramp up the road capacity to 30,000 vehicles per hour.
Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, RTA, said, “Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Corridor Improvement Project is one of the strategic road projects ordered by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, as part of the continuous drive to upgrade the city's infrastructure. The project aims to enhance the efficiency of Dubai's infrastructure to support the emirate's strategic objectives across the board.”
Phase I and Phase II involve widening Ras Al Khor Road over a sector extending 8km from the intersection with the Dubai-Al Ain Road up to the intersection with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, and constructing bridges spanning 2 km as well as a service road on both sides of the road. Upon the completion of the two phases, the project will enhance the capacity of Ras Al Khor Road to 10,000 vehicles per hour, slash the travel time from 20 minutes to about 7 minutes, boost traffic safety and flow, and resolve the existing overlapping of traffic.
“The project serves many major development projects inhabited by 650,000 residents, including The Lagoons, Dubai Creek, Meydan Horizon, Ras Al Khor, Al Wasl, and Nad Al Hamar Complex. In future, the project’s scope will cover the construction of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing, which crosses over the Dubai Creek and links Al Jaddaf in Bur Dubai with the road separating Dubai Creek Project and Dubai Festival City”, added Al Tayer.
Phase II
“The second phase includes improving the intersection of Nad Al Hamar Road and Ras Al Khor Road such that the capacity of the intersection will increase to 30,000 vehicles per hour by constructing a 2-lane bridge extending 988m to provide free left turn for traffic inbound from Nad Al Hamar Road heading to Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road.
It also includes the construction of another two-lane bridge extending 115m to serve the traffic incoming from Nad Al Hamar Road to Ras Al Khor Road in the direction of Dubai-Al Ain Road along with a two-lane underpass extending 368m to provide a right-turn for traffic coming from Ras Al Khor Road heading to Nad Al Hamar. Additionally, works also include widening the existing turns as well as Ras Al Khor Road in the sector extending from Nad Al Hamar Road intersection to Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road intersection, which is expected to open at the end of next April." Al Tayer further said.
Phase I
In December 2022, RTA opened the initial phase of this project which involved widening the road from three lanes to four lanes in both directions over 4 km and constructing two main bridges spanning 1,730 metres with a capacity of 10,600 vehicles per hour. One of the two main bridges constructed has 3 lanes and extends 740 metres to serve the traffic inbound from Dubai-Al Ain Road and Al Khail Road heading eastward to the Dubai Creek Harbour. Its capacity is estimated at 7,500 vehicles per hour in the direction of entry.
The second is a two-lane bridge and ramps that span 990 metres with a capacity of about 3,100 vehicles per hour to serve the traffic from Dubai Creek Harbour towards Ras Al Khor Road.
Works also include constructing a new 4-lane road extending 1.5 km along with entries and exits for the newly completed communities to ease the traffic movement from and to the intersection of Nad Al Hamar with Ras Al Khor Road.
WAM