- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:27 05:45 12:20 15:47 18:49 20:07
Celebrations in Dubai will take place on December 1 at the Burj Al Arab area from late afternoon. (Ahmad Ardity)
A new road (E311) to alleviate traffic congestion on the current main road connecting Abu Dhabi to Dubai (E11) is being planned, with the Department of Transport (DoT), Abu Dhabi, now seeking feasibility and design consultancy services for the 62-kilometres dual carriageway road.
The DoT, through a public tender, has asked companies to submit bids for design consultancy services for 'package C' of E311 by November 18.
Although no details have been given, the department, in a press statement issued in October 2013, stated that the new main road (E311), which will cost Dh2.1 billion, will start at the end of Emirates Road in Seih Shuoaib through Al Maha Forest and Khalifa Port Industrial Zone (B) and will join up at the Sweihan Road (E20) interchange.
The new Abu Dhabi – Dubai main road will serve the Khalifa Port Area and the South Shamkha, Wathba and Baniyas residential areas and labour camps, Khalifa Industrial Zone (A) and (B) and connect to Al Ain (E22 Abu Dhabi–Al Ain main road) and the rest of the main roads network in Abu Dhabi.
The new road link aims to ease traffic congestion on E11 and provide a new strategic link between the two most populated emirates, as well as create new entrances to the city of Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi International Airport, and Yas and Saadiyat Islands.
A study undertaken by DoT states that traffic will go up from 700 vehicles per hour at peak time to more than 12,000 vehicles per hour in 2030 as a result of population growth.
Last year, the World Urbanisation Prospects report by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs said the UAE’s urban population would grow to 7.9 million by 2020, an average annual growth of 2.3 per cent from 2010-20.
Though the difference in rentals between houses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have been declining, a lot of UAE residents stay in Dubai and travel to the capital for work.
In 2012, the Abu Dhabi government staff was told to relocate to the capital or lose their housing allowance. The move was made to ensure the safety of employees commuting long distances, often in bad weather conditions. Government statistics had revealed the number of employees and their families who live outside the emirate at 23,000.
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