Dubai-Al Ain Road a 12-lane highway

A widening of Dubai-Al Ain Road is in the pipeline, increasing the number of lanes from 3 lanes in both directions to 6 lanes in both directions, said the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in a statement to Emirates 24|7.

“The RTA has just completed the study of the upgrade of Dubai-Al Ain Road and is in process to commence with the detailed design,” said Maitha bin Adai, CEO of the Traffic and Roads Agency at the RTA.

The road widening will be carried out over the entire stretch between Bu Khadra Interchange, where Dubai-Al Ain Road intersects with Ras al Khor Road, and Al Ruwayyah Interchange, at the intersection with Emirates Road, covering the majority of the road serving Dubailand.

In addition, all existing interchanges on this stretch will be upgraded to increase capacity, bin Adai added.

With an expected completion date in 2019, the road widening is set to serve new developments within Dubailand and Mohammed Bin Rashid City, where Al Ain Road forms a vital link.

Currently, Dubai-Al Ain Road is the main access road to communities such as Silicon Oasis, Skycourts, Academic City, Nadd al Sheba, Queue Point, The Villa, Liwan and Bu Khadra.

With an increasing number of residents flocking to these communities, the corridor has experienced growing traffic congestion and bottlenecks.

“The intersection between Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road and Dubai - Al Ain Road is currently witnessing major traffic congestions,” said bin Adai.

“Hence, the RTA has placed this intersection as a top priority for upgrade. New directional links shall be introduced to resolve those congestions along with the comprehensive improvements along Dubai Al Ain Road.”

It is anticipated that construction works commence in the third quarter of 2016, she added.

Speed limit revised?

Recently, the speed limit on the same road was revised from 120kmph to 100kmph. However, a wider road has the potential for another revision of the maximum allowed speed.

“The recent speed reduction on the Dubai-Al Ain Road was based on a comprehensive study in which several elements had been evaluated,” said Adai.

“Upon the completion of construction the road shall be monitored and re-evaluated to decide on the compatible speed at that time.”

Petrol pump

In addition to the road improvements, access to the main petrol pump serving traffic coming from Al Ain has been improved with a temporary solution, described bin Adai.

Located just after the exit from Silicon Oasis, and before the congested intersection with Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Road, the Eppco petrol station on Al Ain Road next to Silicon Oasis caused considerable traffic congestion.

“As part of the improvements of the free-right turn from Academic City Road to Dubai Al Ain Road, the access of the filling station has been enhanced to provide a smooth weaving between the various road elements,” said bin Adai.

“This is a temporary solution that shall be modified in the near future as part of the upgrade of Dubai - Al Ain Road.”

She added that as part of the upgrade of the interchange with Academic City Road a new collector road will be constructed, providing access to the proposed filling station.

Recently, the RTA announced the extension of Academic City Road starting from the Dubai-Al Ain Road up to Al Yalayis Road, with an added connection to Emirates Road from The Villa community.

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