By Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter www.gulfnews.com
Dubai: Long tailbacks along Al Rebat Street in Dubai will be a thing of the past once a project to construct an additional lane is completed, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced yesterday.
The RTA has embarked on a project to widen Al Rebat Street from two to three lanes along a 1.5-kilometre stretch in Al Garhoud area, in a sector extending up to Shaikh Rashid Street.
Engineer Maitha Bin Udai, CEO of RTA Traffic and Roads Agency, said that a study was conducted in reponse to heavy tailbacks in inbound traffic from Al Rebat Street and outbound traffic towards Deira or Abu Dhabi.
“The study revealed that the problem was attributed to the vehicular capacity of Al Rebat Street which comprises two lanes only required to serve about 3,500 vehicles in the evening peak hour; which generates traffic crawl in the area. The second factor contributing to the congestion in the area was the large number of traffic overlaps [10 overlapping movements] with the traffic inbound from Al Rebat Street, Al Garhoud Bridge and the street serving the parallel business area,” she said.
The project will be part of the ‘Miscellaneous Improvements in Dubai’ project undertaken by the RTA to ensure smooth traffic flow, she said.
“RTA mulled several options and suggestions for improving the traffic situation in the area, assessed the pros and cons of each option and accordingly approved the optimal alternative of increasing the number of lanes in the sector stretching 1.5 kilometres that links Al Rebat Street and Shaikh Rashid Street from two to three lanes,” Bin Udai said.
New signage
Road markings will be suitably modified so that two lanes will channel traffic into the tunnel bound to Bani Yas Street and two other lanes will serve traffic bound to the Airport Street. Works proposed also include closing the exit of the business district parallel to the area to eliminate three overlapping movements.
