Abu Dhabi: Whether it’s getting to work, meeting family and friends in nearby cities or visiting remote desert areas, travelling by road is the most convenient method of transport in the UAE.
Across the Emirates, tens of thousands of people get behind the wheel to drive to their destination every single day, and Abu Dhabi is no different. The flow of traffic along the UAE capital’s modern highways is maintained and safety ensured thanks to the use of state-of-the-art technology and the very latest construction materials and techniques.
The UAE’s hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed with the nation’s roads ranked number one in the world in the Global Competitiveness Report, issued by the Word Economic Forum for 2017-18.
With that accomplishment in mind, it’s no surprise that Abu Dhabi has been chosen to host the World Road Congress in October.
With less than one month to go until Abu Dhabi welcomes the world’s leading road professionals and experts for the 26th edition of the prestigious event, experts from Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport have shared 10 amazing facts about the capital’s roads.
1. Rapid growth: In just over 10 years the capacity of Abu Dhabi’s road network has almost doubled. Today, the Emirate’s roads stretch for more than 25,000km, reaching cities, towns and neighbouring countries with ease.
2. Overcoming the heat: Abu Dhabi created a unique type of road surface mix that was able to withstand extreme heat. Called, Structured Asphalt, it is made up of a blend of bitumen and aggregates unique to Abu Dhabi. The special Abu Dhabi mix was needed after engineers discovered that traditional asphaltic concrete and sabkha options deteriorated over time and were unsuitable to the UAE’s hot environment.
3. No sandy issues:The gradient and camber of Abu Dhabi’s roads is specifically designed to allow sand to easily and quickly blow over the surface, ensuring it keeps moving and doesn’t collect on the road.
4. Camel crossings: In certain areas around Abu Dhabi, traditional camel crossing routes have been protected through the building of dedicated underpasses. These allow the camels to roam freely and protect the animals and motorists from accidents.
5. Truck roads: Abu Dhabi is the only Emirate to have dedicated truck roads that run parallel to existing routes. Created to help with the flow of essential trucks along the main north, south, east and west routes through Abu Dhabi, these trucks-only roads reduce the risk of cars being involved in accidents with larger vehicles and allow trucks to avoid being caught up in rush hour traffic.
6. Taking safety seriously: The roads in Abu Dhabi have been specifically designed to have divided highways and controlled intersections that eliminate the risk of head-on collisions and improve safety.
7. Unique installation: When it comes to maintaining Abu Dhabi’s utility infrastructure, work crews can access essential pipes and cabling via purpose-built tunnels underneath the main roads. This means there’s no need to dig up roads, close lanes and disrupt traffic when it is time to repair or replace parts of the utility network.
8. Landscaping nature: A key part of the vision of His Highness the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first President and Founder of the UAE, was to landscape the areas around the UAE’s road network. This is why scores of plants and trees can be seen growing along the side of all roads, even on the most remote desert routes.
9. Recycling water:Throughout the course of the year, the plants and trees that line the side of Abu Dhabi’s roads are irrigated using wastewater collected from around the Emirate. This recycled water is treated and used to boost the natural environment.
10. Two identical bridges: Opened in 1968, Al Maqta Bridge was the first bridge in Abu Dhabi and provided a gateway connecting Abu Dhabi island with the mainland. The bridge quickly sparked an increase in traffic to and from the capital, so in a bid to ease congestion a second bridge was built next to the original. Although they were constructed 33 years apart, both the original and newer Al Maqta Bridge look identical with engineers using the same structure and design.
ENDS
Press Contact:
Noorul Hijaz
Seven Media
noorulhijaz@sevenmedia.ae
00971 55316 3123
About PIARC
The World Road Association (PIARC) was established in 1909 as a non-profit organisation to be the world leader in the exchange of knowledge on roads and road transport policy and practices within the context of integrated, sustainable transport.
As of December 2018, the Association counts 122 national member governments from all over the world, including two-thirds from low and middle-income countries, and more than 2,000 members from industry, administration or academia as well as individuals.
About Department of Transport - Abu Dhabi
The Department of Transport of Abu Dhabi (“DoT”) was established by Law No. (4) of 2006, as amended by Law No. 5 of 2008 and No. 6 of 2018 issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the U.A.E., as the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, to carry out the legislative, regulatory, supervisory and control functions related to the surface, maritime transport and the civil aviation sectors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi as well as all commercial activities related to these sectors.
As part of its efforts to establish an integrated and sustainable transport system in line with the population and urban growth and the rapid technological development in the transport sector, DoT continuously works in cooperation with its stakeholders to develop projects that provide the best services in line with the Abu Dhabi Development Agenda and public policy.
About World Road Congress Abu Dhabi 2019
Since the first World Road Congress held in Paris in 1909, PIARC has organized Congresses every four years in a member country with the aim of sharing worldwide techniques, innovations, political strategies, trends and developments, best practices and experiences in the fields of road, infrastructures and transport between Ministers, governments, private sector, road and transport administrations and organizations, academics, solutions’ providers, experts and practitioners from more than 140 countries across the planet.
The Abu Dhabi Department of Transport (DoT) won the bid to host the prestigious 26th Congress and, taking the current international situation across the globe into account, came up with the topic “Connecting Cultures, Enabling Economies” to enable multilateral talks as innovative way to establish new ideas towards better understanding not only of road, infrastructure and transport works but also regarding the cultural part that should be implemented among all.
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