Dubai’s ruler approves new projects for roads, cycling lanes

Several new projects to develop more roads and walking and cycling paths in Dubai have been approved by UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The projects are set to be undertaken by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), official news agency WAM reported.

They include a project to develop Al Khawaneej Road, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Road, Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan Road and Umm Al Sheif Street, and other projects linked to the Expo 2020 Dubai.

Sheikh Mohammed also approved a project to pave the internal roads of the city for a total length of 320 kilometres, in both residential and industrial areas, with work beginning in 2018 and finishing in 2024. The project is aimed to help meet the requirements of an increasing population and local urban and industrial development.

An updated plan to construct walking paths along Dubai Creek, and the introduction of bus lanes on external roads were also given approval.

Another project that received the go-ahead is the construction of bicycle lanes around the streets of Dubai, with a planned total length of 500 kilometres by 2021, to encourage exercise and decrease the use of cars and the resulting carbon emissions.

Sheikh Mohammed also approved a planned project to upgrade five metro stations, to address the increasing and heavy demand of metro users, who number 650,000 passengers per day.

He also reviewed other projects including several road projects and the upgrading of local group transportation systems to keep pace with the requirements of Expo 2020 Dubai.

Some of the RTA’s key projects related to Expo 2020 Dubai include the Enterprise Command and Control Centre, or ‘EC3’ which was launched in May, and road projects around the Expo site and the intersections of Dubai International Airport Road.

Sheikh Mohammed also reviewed the Dubai-Al Ain Road project, which aims to raise the capacity of the road from 6,000 vehicles per hour to 12,000, for both directions.

He was also shown a preview of a new system, used for the first time in the UAE, to measure the dimensions and weights of trucks on the Hatta-Dubai Road. The new system aims to decrease traffic accidents and fatalities caused by trucks due to their excess cargo.