Establishing intersections between Sheikh Zayed, Emirates, and Mohammed bin Zayed roads to speed up traffic.

The Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, revealed the work to establish national axes linking the three main axes, “Sheikh Zayed Road, Emirates Road, and Mohammed bin Zayed Road.” This came in his response to questions from members of the Federal National Council about the reason for the lack of national axes linking the three main roads in the country, because of their many benefits and positives, most notably reducing accidents, the duration of transporting goods, and the transportation of road users to their destinations, in addition to addressing permanent congestion, especially on the vital roads between Dubai. And Sharjah.

Al Mazrouei said, during the National Council’s discussion of government policy on the safety and flow of traffic, yesterday: “We have in the Infrastructure and Housing Council, which includes all those concerned with roads in the country and all agencies, and the intersections that connect the axes are possible and speed up movement, and work is underway to implement a group of them in coordination with the localities, because they pass through the local sector of each emirate, and with the presence of the Council and Joint Planning, we have the ability through simulation to measure the ability to facilitate movement, and monitoring of cars has become real-time with the presence of cameras, and the joint team in the Council has also studied the current axes and the axle. Fourth, the mechanism of current and future movement on it according to the patterns of increase in vehicles.”

Al Mazrouei added: “Work in this field is continuing, and at the choke point between the emirates of Sharjah and Dubai, there is a large intersection project being worked on in coordination with the Infrastructure and Housing Council. The emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have also agreed on integrated solutions to address the current traffic congestion, and the project, when implemented, will work to address this congestion.”

He continued: “There are international standards that are used when designing any new road. These standards take into account the elderly, people of determination, and the diversity of vehicles on the road. Before designing any road, we have a simulation system for what the road will be like after its implementation. The Infrastructure and Housing Council includes all relevant parties working together, and this coordination exists, as some federal roads are connected to secondary roads and exits. When we now look at the future planning of any road, we address these exits, and these exits are of sufficient size and paths for cars to exit according to the real flow, not the theoretical flow. This is Simulation is important for us and we set standards in it. The UAE, in terms of road infrastructure, is considered one of the best countries in the world in terms of legislation and specifications. You can see the size of the lane and its comparison with some countries. In the UAE, the size of the lane is appropriate and larger, and this takes into account the elderly and also takes into account people of determination when driving, and this is part of the national specifications approved by us in the Ministry.”

Al Mazrouei stressed that the design of roads in the country relies on an advanced methodology based on comprehensive simulation of the road network, where congestion scenarios are analyzed, especially at peak times, to ensure the road’s ability to accommodate traffic and address congestion, pointing out that some challenges are not only related to federal roads, but also to local roads.

He pointed out that the current lanes on the main roads are 19 lanes, and we need to expand them to a number commensurate with the increase in the number of cars in the Emirates, and with the addition of the fourth axis, it will reach 33 lanes with a 73% expansion rate in a period of time not exceeding three to four years to come. The train project and reducing the number of trucks are integrated with the legislative system, and with future developments we see that the regular vehicles currently used on the roads will be replaced by self-driving vehicles, which are being tested today in the Emirates, and these vehicles will be subject to laws being implemented. The Ministry of Interior is working on developing it.