Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) have opened an 800-metre tunnel with four lanes in each direction, as part of the Umm Suqeim Street Development Project, which will serve residential and development areas with a population exceeding one million.
This extends from the intersection with Al Khail Road to the intersection with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and will reduce travel time from 9.7 minutes to 3.8 minutes – almost 61 per cent – and increases the capacity of Umm Suqeim Street to 16,000 vehicles per hour in both directions.
Key RTA project
Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA: “The project enhances connectivity between four strategic corridors in Dubai: Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Khail Road, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, and Emirates Road.
“It increases the capacity of Umm Suqeim Street to 16,000 vehicles per hour in both directions and reduces travel time between Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Al Khail Road by 61 per cent, from 9.7 minutes to 3.8 minutes.”
The project serves residential and development zones, including Al Barsha South 1, 2, and 3, Dubai Hills, Arjan, and Dubai Science Park, with a total population exceeding one million residents.
“Umm Suqeim-Al Qudra Corridor Improvement Project is one of RTA’s key strategic transverse (east-west) traffic corridors, designed to enhance integration with vertical (north-south) road corridors,” Al Tayer said.
RTA’s use of advanced technology
RTA used advanced technology in project monitoring, including drones, which were used to analyse construction data using artificial intelligence, enhancing operational efficiency on-site, accelerating decision-making, and providing real-time, highly accurate information.
These smart tools helped cut field survey times by 60 per cent. Time-lapse imaging increased monitoring efficiency by 40 per cent.
