The project will increase the capacity of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road from 8,000 to 60,000 vehicles per hour. WAM

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) on Saturday opened the last two phases of roads leading to Expo 2020 site.

Construction work under these two phases included a flyover linking Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road and Expo Road as well as two flyovers on Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road to ensure a smooth traffic flow to and from the site of Expo. The project also included bridges extending 7km and roads extending 43km in addition to three interchanges.

The project was undertaken in response to the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to develop roads and transport networks to support Expo 2020, which Dubai is hosting.

The improvement of roads leading to the Expo was one of the biggest road projects undertaken by RTA for the Expo. Due to its massive scope, the project had been divided into six phases to ensure the timely completion of all works.

The project also included bridges extending 7km and roads extending 43km in addition to three interchanges. WAM

"Work on the last phase included transforming the previous roundabout at the intersection of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road and Expo Road into a flyover enabling free movement in all directions. The work included widening and elevating Expo Road by constructing two bridges of six lanes in each direction along with turns and ramps to ensure smooth traffic flow from Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road to Abu Dhabi and vice versa. This will ease the traffic movement from Expo Road to Sheikh Zayed Road," said Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA.

"These improvements will ease the traffic flow from Expo Road Northwards to Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road in the direction of Dubai, and from Expo Road Southwards to the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road in the direction of Abu Dhabi. Additionally, the project covered the work spanning 27km on Expo Road and widening it from four to six lanes in each direction together with service roads in both directions. Four bridges have been constructed on Expo Road to ease the traffic movement from and to the expo site," he added.

"The project will increase the capacity of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road from 8,000 to 60,000 vehicles per hour and slash the transit time on Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road from Al Houdh Interchange to the entry of Al Maktoum Airport from 35 to 6 minutes. It will also provide a direct exit from the expo to the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road Northwards to Dubai," he explained.

"The concluding phase of the project covered the construction of two flyovers on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road to ensure a smooth traffic flow from and to the site of the expo (to be opened gradually in coordination with the office of Expo 2020) in addition to road works extending 16km," Al Tayer said.

RTA had set a master mobility plan for the expo to ensure safe and smooth transport of Expo visitors. Besides developing a sprawling network of roads and bridges, RTA also undertook Route 2020 project for extending Dubai Metro Red Line 15km from Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station to the site of the expo.

The plan also comprised deployment of mass transit means such as environmentally-friendly buses for transporting visitors from key assembly points in Dubai to the expo. It also catered to the deployment of taxis involving the provision of taxi ranks and streamlining their movement.

The RTA also opened the Enterprise Command and Control Centre, EC3; one of the biggest worldwide as far as the use of smart technologies and control of multi-modal transit means at present or in the future. It also assists sound mobility plans and copes with various potential mobility challenges in the Emirate.

WAM