By Shafaat Shahbandari, Staff Reporter www.gulfnews.com
Dubai: Long tailbacks continue to be the order of the day in Al Wasl area, leading up to Shaikh Zayed Road from Umm Amara street.
Traffic continues to be heavy even though the busy exit between the Business Bay Metro station and Emarat Atrium was expanded by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to increase its capacity.
The exit and the two roundabouts leading to it on Umm Amara street and Shaikh Zayed Road have seen heavy traffic jams since earlier this year following the introduction of detours by RTA to facilitate work on the Dubai Canal project
Most of the internal roads in Al Safa and Al Wasl area have either been blocked or turned into one way to make way for phase one of the Dubai Canal project, which includes relocation of underground service lines before work on construction of Shaikh Zayed Road bridges begins in October.
Traffic in Al Safa and Al Wasl areas has been badly affected since the introduction of detours, which is expected to last till the end of summer. Although RTA added a lane to the exit in March in an attempt to ease traffic in the area, the move doesn’t seem to have had much impact.
“The situation is really bad, particularly during lunch hour and evening rush hours. Since there is only one exit from the neighbourhood to Shaikh Zayed Road all traffic converges at Umm Amara roundabout. Even the addition of a lane to the exit hasn’t helped much,” said Ali Sulaiman, a sales executive based in the area. More info
