Travel time along a key Dubai corridor will be cut from 20 minutes to just five minutes, following the award of a major contract to develop the intersection of Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street with Al Awir Road and Al Manama Street.
The project, awarded by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), will raise the street’s traffic capacity from 5,200 vehicles per hour to 14,400 vehicles per hour in both directions, an increase of 176 per cent, as part of wider efforts to accommodate population growth and urban expansion. Completion is expected in the third quarter of 2028.
The development includes the construction of 2,300 metres of bridges, expansion of lanes, paving of service roads along Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street and Al Awir Road in both directions, and the provision of new entrances and exits serving residential and development areas along the corridor.
According to the RTA, the project serves residential and development areas with a combined population of more than 600,000 residents and visitors and is designed to ensure smoother traffic flow and improved mobility across the area.
At the intersection of Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street with Al Awir Road, the existing roundabout will be converted into a grade-separated intersection to enable free-flow traffic in all directions. Works include constructing main bridges on Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street with four lanes in each direction, along with right- and left-turn ramps, each comprising two lanes.
The project also involves constructing a bridge at the intersection of Al Awir Road with Emirates Road to serve traffic heading towards Al Awir and Sharjah, as well as developing parallel service roads along both Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street and Al Awir Road to provide safe access to surrounding development areas.
At the intersection with Al Manama Street, the project includes upgrading surface roads by widening Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street from two to four lanes in each direction. The signalised surface intersection will also be enhanced to improve operational efficiency, increase traffic capacity, and provide safer access points to nearby developments.
The works form part of RTA’s broader programme to upgrade Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street, which previously included the development of a 25-kilometre stretch from Dubai–Al Ain Road to Al Yalayis Street, construction of multiple intersections, and interim traffic solutions to support growing demand.
Earlier phases also included the construction of two bridges at the Dubai Silicon Oasis intersection, each 120-metres long with four lanes in each direction, delivering a combined capacity of 14,400 vehicles per hour, alongside a signalised surface intersection beneath the bridges designed to improve traffic flow towards Dubai Silicon Oasis, Zayed University, and the Academic City roundabout.
