26 February 2006
Dubai: Major diversion plans have been prepared to ensure minimum impact on traffic movement during the construction of the Dubai light rail system.
One major diversion during the building of the Dubai Metro will be near the BurJuman shopping mall in Bur Dubai, a senior official said.
Hashim Al Hashemi, Director of Traffic Department at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said his department is closely working in coordination with Dubai Metro Department at the RTA to implement traffic diversion plans during the construction period.
"We are also holding workshops with consultants and contractors to review various traffic diversion plans in different parts of the city, especially at spots where the underground stations will be built," Hashemi told Gulf News on Saturday.
One of the major traffic diversion plans for BurJuman Underground Metro Station has been finalized.
This station is one of the two major underground stations where the Red and Green Lines meet. The other major underground station is at Union Square (Deira Taxi Stand).
Two smaller underground stations will be located at Al Rigga Street and on Al Ittihad Road near Deira City Centre.
"The whole intersection in front of the BurJuman Centre will be dug up to build the underground station. The interchange will be replaced with a huge roundabout during the construction period because the station will be located right under at the crossroads of Khalid Bin Walid Road and Shaikh Khalifa Street," said AlHashemi.
He said alternative roads such as Al Seef Road will also be provided more access points to have minimum impact on traffic because it is one of the busiest areas in the city as far as traffic flow is concerned.
He said the department will soon launch traffic safety awareness campaign and will also educate motorists on traffic diversions.
Al Hashemi said there would be hardly any impact on traffic on Shaikh Zayed Road because an elevated metro line is planned there.
In an earlier interview, Abdul Majeed Khaja, Director of Dubai Metro Department at the RTA, told Gulf News that construction of the metro project will start in full swing at 35 sites simultaneously as logistics for the civil work, ground digging and viaducts are being finalized.
He sought to allay public apprehensions about disruptions to traffic leading to road chaos during the construction period.
Dh12.45b automated and driverless system
The Dh12.45 billion Dubai Metro project will be a fully automated and driverless system, running on two lines red and green with a total length of 69.7km.
The Red Line, which will be constructed during phase one, runs from Rashidiya Station to Jebel Ali Station, is 52.1km long, including 4.7km of underground and 47.4km elevated line.
The Green Line, which will be constructed during phase two, is 17.6km long including 7.6km underground lane in the business district areas of Dubai. It runs from Dubai Airport Free Zone to Dubai Healthcare City.
A total 87 trains comprising five carriages each will run at a maximum speed of 110km per hour.
By Ashfaq Ahmed
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
