The new roads and bridges network contribute to streamlining the traffic flow.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced that 75% of the construction of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Corridor Improvement is completed.

The project extends 8 km along Ras Al Khor Road from the intersection of Dubai-Al Ain Road to the intersection of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road.

Works include constructing bridges extending 2 km, widening Ras Al Khor Road from three to four lanes in each direction, and building two-lane service roads on both sides.

“The project aims to increase the capacity of Ras Al Khor Road to 10,000 vehicles per hour, slash the travel time from 20 minutes to about 7 minutes, enhance traffic safety and flow, and eliminate the existing overlapping traffic spots.

The project serves a host of major development projects inhabited by 650,000 residents namely The Lagoons, Dubai Creek, Meydan Horizon, Ras Al Khor, Al Wasl, and Nad Al Hamar Complex,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, RTA.

“The project also includes improving the intersection of Nad Al Hamar Road with Ras Al Khor Road to enhance its capacity to 30,000 vehicles per hour by constructing a two-lane bridge extending 988 metres to enable free left-side turns of traffic inbound from Nad Al Hamar Road heading in the direction of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road.

It also involves the construction of another two-lane bridge extending 115 metres to serve the traffic inbound from Nad Al Hamar heading to Ras Al Khor Road heading in the direction of Dubai-Al Ain Road.

Work also includes the construction of a two-lane tunnel extending 368 metres to enable right-side turns from Ras Al Khor Road to Nad Al Hamar, improving the existing intersection, and widening the existing turns,” added Al Tayer. Phases “The Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Corridor Improvement Project is one of the biggest projects undertaken by RTA.

In future, it will include the construction of Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Crossing; a bridge crossing over the Dubai Creek to link Al Jaddaf in Bur Dubai with the street extending between Dubai Creek Project and Dubai Festival City.

“The project has been divided into several phases. Last year, RTA completed the construction of a 3-lane bridge extending 740 metres leading to the Western entrance to Dubai Creek - Dubai Creek Harbour.

The bridge connects the traffic inbound from Dubai-Al Ain Road and Al Khail Road, heading East to the Dubai Creek-Dubai Creek Harbour, with a capacity of 7,500 incoming vehicles per hour.

“RTA has also constructed a new 1.5-kilometre road of four lanes in each direction along with entry and exit points to and from the newly completed areas and buildings to facilitate the movement of traffic inbound from Nad Al Hamar-Ras Al Khor Roads intersection.

“The new roads and bridges network contributed to streamlining the traffic flow to the newly completed housing units at Dubai Creek, by linking them with the surrounding roads.

The new roads were also fitted with a lighting network of 108 streetlight poles. Works are currently under way in the construction of a 640-metre bridge to ensure a smooth traffic movement from Dubai Creek Harbour project towards Ras Al Khor Road with a capacity of about 3,100 vehicles per hour,” explained Al Tayer.

Recently, RTA finalised a master plan for investing its data in line with the provisions of Law No. 26 of 2015 Regulating Data Dissemination and Exchange in Dubai and subsequent policies. The law, which is aligned with the UAE Vision 2021, supports the pillars of a competitive economy driven by knowledge and innovation.

The ultimate objective is to place the UAE at the heart of important economic transformations that the world is expected to witness in future.

"This framework is a prelude to a final project for maximising RTA’s revenues by selling data to government and private entities under the provisions of the Dubai Data Law issued in 2015.

By undertaking this project, RTA has become the first government entity in the UAE and the region to implement this approach," said Mohammed Al Mudharreb, CEO of Corporate Technology and Technical Support Services Sector, RTA.