Parallel Roads project in full swing

Monday, Jan 25, 2010

Gulf News

Dubai Construction of the Dh6.25 billion Parallel Roads Project is in full swing and likely to be completed this year, Gulf News has learnt.

The Parallel Roads Project is the biggest road improvement project currently being carried out by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

It comprises two parallel roads, each 64km long, stretching between Shaikh Rashid Road (near Zabeel Park) and the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

The roads run parallel between Shaikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road. They are being built to provide an easy link between various commercial and residential developments coming up between the two major highways in the emirate.

"[The] Parallel Roads Project is among the key road projects marked for completion this year," Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA said in a statement on Saturday.

"Parallel Roads are not highways like Shaikh Zayed or Al Khail Road. These are arterial roads such as Jumeirah Road or Al Wasl Road," Al Tayer said in an earlier interview with Gulf News.

Partial openings

Different sections of the parallel roads have already been opened and the work is progressing well on the remaining phases, another senior RTA official said yesterday.

There will be signals and standard intersections to ensure the smooth flow of traffic while ensuring the safety of pedestrians and residents.

The maximum speed on these roads will not be more than 80km/h.

"These roads will ease traffic flow on Shaikh Zayed Road and provide easy connections between various communities and developing residential and commercial areas between the two highways," Al Tayer said.

The total capacity of the two roads is expected to be 18,000 vehicles per hour. The project has been divided into nine phases.

The Parallel Roads cross the city from Shaikh Rashid Road near Zabeel Park and the Dubai World Trade Centre in the north to the Abu Dhabi border in the south.

They pass through localities such as Zabeel, Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai Mall, Business Bay, Al Quoz industrial and residential areas, Al Barsha, Emirates Hills, Springs, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Ibn Battuta Mall, Jebel Ali Free Zone and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Technology Park.

Al Tayer said that the Parallel Roads are among the vital projects being undertaken by the RTA to ease traffic congestion on Shaikh Zayed Road and provide an alternate road corridor.

They consist of three-lane roads in each direction, and a number of flyovers and interchanges. This will make it easier to travel between commercial and residential areas without using the highways such as Shaikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road.

Two out of the five phases of the project, including the phase between Al Quoz and Al Barsha have been completed.

Track

BOX

Development: The Parallel Roads Project

Developer: Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)

Location: The Parallel Road form Shaikh Rashid Road near Zabeel Park to Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) -- 64-km

Cost: Dh6.25 billion

Completion: 2010/2011 (in phases)

all about the project

Development: The Parallel Roads Project

Developer: Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)

Overall costs: Dh6.25 billion