Mar 12 2011 |
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Driving no longer a nightmare
Saturday, Mar 12, 2011
Gulf News
Gulf News takes to roads most notorious for congestion to gain insight into traffic conditions
Dubai/Sharjah While commuting between Sharjah and Dubai is no longer the nightmare it was a few years ago, the situation is still unsatisfactory for most motorists who face traffic jams during peak hours.
The driving time, however, has definitely fallen considerably during peak morning and evening hours, thanks to a number of road infrastructure projects completed in both emirates in the past few years.
Yes, they did is the answer because the average travel time has falalen by at least 40 per cent. The routes taken were Al Ittihad Road, Damascus Road, Beirut Road and Emirates Road.
The average travel time was a little more than 70 minutes whereas it was more than 120 minutes when Gulf News last conducted its survey using the same routes in October 2004.
Major projects
Though a huge number of people have moved from Sharjah to Dubai due to falling rents, the number of vehicles commuting between the emirates has in fact increased because of the population increase in both emirates. Many have also moved from Dubai to Sharjah to save money because rents in Sharjah have also gone down and accommodation is much cheaper than that in Dubai.
The traffic has eased because of some major infrastructure projects including the Al Ittihad Road improvement project which eased bottlenecks between Sharjah and Dubai.
The opening of the Business Bay Bridge provides a new road between Dubai and Sharjah, making it easier for motorists commuting between the two emirates. Construction of the Dubai Airport Tunnel is yet another project which has helped ease traffic.
Also, expansion of Emirates Road by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) from three to five lanes has also helped ease traffic issues with its increased capacity.
The Sharjah-Dubai Bypass road is yet another project which has taken up a huge chunk of traffic and has provided an alternate route for motorists, especially those travelling from the northern emirates to Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
The increase in the number of public transport buses between Sharjah and Dubai has definitely encouraged more people to switch to public transport. Thousands of people use these buses every day to commute between the two emirates.
The traffic flow within Sharjah has also improved due to some major road projects being completed last year. One of them was Al Wahda Road improvement, which included a number of bridges and underpasses throughout the city.
The Al Wahda double-deck road which is 1.8 kilometres long has had a positive impact on traffic movement.
Another project that eased the traffic flow was on Maleha Road, which was launched in August 2010. Sharjah has also replaced most roundabouts with traffic light intersections to ease congestion.
By Ashfaq Ahmed?Chief Reporter and?Mariam M. Al Serkal?Staff Reporter
© Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
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