Dubai, 6th April 2013 (WAM) -- Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has ordered that the Dubai Bypass Road be named the Emirates Road.

The Emirates Road is a key traffic corridor in the structural roads networkin the UAE and offers an alternative motorway to Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road as it provides an external corridor for motorists traveling from Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Qaiwain, Ajman and Sharjah to Abu Dhabi emirate and vice-versa without having to go through downtown area, thus reducing traffic congestion on internal roads.

The Road will gain growing importance given the massive urban expansion developments stretching 120 kilometres (72 km of which in Dubai) on both sides.

Built to the international best engineering specifications and standards, the Road has six lanes in each direction in the stretch that lies with Dubai and has three to four lanes in the part that passes through other emirates.

In 2007, the Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) invested AED 1.15 billion to expand the Road from two lanes to six lanes. It has also 15 interchangesand 12 tunnels.

With a speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour, the highway was constructed in four phases. The RTA's future plan envisages routes between the Emirates Road with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Roads.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2013.