Al Khawaneej tunnel work nearing completion, set for March opening


More than 70 per cent of the work has been completed on Al Khawaneej-Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan tunnel and is due for opening in March next year. The project will see upgrade of Al Khawaneej intersections and construction of 23-km-long roads.

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that work was moving at a steady pace on its Al Khawaneej-Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan roads intersection with more than 70 per cent of the project already completed.
 
The project encompassed improving three main intersections on Al Khawaneej and Al Amardi Streets, and the construction of service roads extending 23km along Al Khawaneej and Al Amardi Streets, said the statement from RTA.
 
The completion rate of the entire Al Khawaneej Road Improvement Project has hit 52 percent. With work in full swing on the project, the tunnel is on track for opening in March, revealed Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA.
 
Al Tayer was speaking during a tour of the project accompanied by engineers to inspect the progress of the project at the site. 
 
Recently the RTA opened the surface signalised junction of Al Khawaneej-Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Roads, which eased the traffic congestion by 40 percent compared to the situation with the previous Roundabout. 
 
"Completion rates reached 73 percent in the underpass of Al Khawaneej Road, and 45 percent in the bridge leading to Al Awir. Recently, the RTA completed the surface junction of Al Khawaneej-Al Amardi Streets as well as the improvements of junctions of Algeria Street at Al Warqaa nearby Uptown Mirdif and Shorooq and Ghoroob Mirdif," said Al Tayer.
 
"The improvement of Al Khawaneej Corridor is one of the key strategic projects for improving the links between Dubai and Sharjah through the improvement of vertical roads linking with the Emirates Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road up to the Airport Street," he noted. 
 
"The project will also accommodate the current and projected growth of traffic. Upon completion, it will slash the travel time between Emirates Road and the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road from 25 minutes to nine minutes, and the waiting time at the junction of Al Khawneej-Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Roads (Al Khawaneej R/A) from 330 seconds to 45 seconds. It will double the capacity of the junction from 8,000 vehicles per hour to 16,000 vehicles per hour," he added.
 
Al Tayer pointed out that replacing the roundabout at the intersection of Al Khawaneej-Al Amardi Roads by a surface junction will halve the waiting time from 120 seconds to 60 seconds.
 
"The project works include the construction of a tunnel of three lanes in each direction extending 680 metres at the intersection of Al Khawaneej-Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Roads. Works also include the construction of a surface signalised junction to ensure free and safe traffic flow on Al Khawaneej Road, and replacing the existing roundabout at the intersection of Al Khawaneej-Al Amardi Streets by a signalised junction," he noted. 
 
Al Amardi-Emirates Roads junction will be upgraded to a flyover of two lanes in each direction extending 201 metres above the Emirates Road in the direction of Al Awir, he added.-TradeArabia News Service