Major road improvements to ease traffic in Dubai's Ras Al Khor

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has opened Phase 1 of the Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Improvement Corridor Project.

It extends from the intersection of Ras Al Khor with Dubai-Al Ain Road (Bu Kadra intersection) to the intersection of Ras Al Khor Road with Nad Al Hamar Road.

Works included widening the road from three to four lanes in each direction over a 4km sector, and opening all bridges leading to Dubai Creek Harbour extending 1,730m, with a capacity of about 10,600 vehicles per hour.

“Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Corridor Project is one of the strategic roads improvement projects undertaken in response to the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. It is part of an ongoing process to enhance the capacity of the infrastructural components to support the strategic objectives of the emirate and serve development across the board,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, RTA.

Works under Phase I and II of the project involve widening Ras Al Khor Road in a sector extending 8km from the intersection of Ras Al Khor with the Dubai- Al Ain Road up to the intersection with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road in addition to bridges extending 2km in total and a service road on both sides of the road.

Upon the completion of the two phases, the capacity of Ras Al Khor Road will jump to 10,000 vehicles per hour, and the travel time will drop from 20 minutes to about 7 minutes.

"The project serves a host of major development projects inhabited by 650,000 people, namely 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 Jadaf in Bur Dubai with the road separating Dubai Creek Project and Dubai Festival City," added Al Tayer.

Phase I

The initial phase of the project, which has been opened in full, included widening Ras Al Khor Road from three to four lanes in each direction, and constructing a 2-lane service road along Ras Al Khor Road stretching 4.2 km.

It also included the construction of two main bridges. The first consists of three lanes that extend 740m and serves the traffic inbound from Dubai-Al Ain Road and Al Khail Road heading east to Dubai Creek with an inward capacity of 7,500 vehicles per hour.

The second is a 2-lane bridge with slopes extending 990m and a capacity of 3,100 vehicles per hour to serve the traffic coming from Dubai Creek Harbour heading to Ras Al Khor Road.

Works also included the construction of a new 1.5km road of four lanes in each direction in addition to entry and exit points of the newly developed areas to ease the traffic movement coming from the intersection of Nad Al Hamar Road and Ras Al Khor Road.

Phase II

The second phase includes improving the intersection of Nad Al Hamar Road and Ras Al Khor Road so that the capacity of the intersection will increase to 30,000 vehicles per hour through 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 right-turn for traffic coming from Ras Al Khor Road heading to Nad Al Hamar.

Additional 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.