Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that the 7th Interchange on the Sheikh Zayed Road (SZR) Project and Al Yalayes Road Improvement Project will be opened to traffic on 15 September.

Dubai RTA Director-General Mattar Al Tayer said that the projects are expected to improve the connectivity between Sheikh Zayed Road and both Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road.

Al Tayer said: “They will ease the traffic flow on the Sheikh Zayed Road by diverting the traffic inbound from Abu Dhabi on the Sheikh Zayed Road to Al Yalayes Road and on to the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road.”

“The project will also see improvements to the light signals at gates 1 and 2 of Jebel Ali Port.”

Works on the 7th Interchange on the Al Yalayes Road Improvement project include the construction of a four-lane bridge, branching out of Al Yalayes Road into two bridges featuring two lanes each.

The 7th Interchange of Sheikh Zayed Road Project comprises two phases. Phase I covers improvement of traffic flow from and to SZR and Al Yalayes Road eastward and is slated to open on 15 September.

Phase II covers improvement of traffic flow from SZR to Dubal Street in both directions and is set for opening in the last quarter of this year.

The project will also see improvements to the light signals at gates 1 and 2 of Jebel Ali Port.

Another two-lane bridge will also be constructed to serve the traffic inbound from Dubal Street in Jebel Free Zone and Port crossing over Sheikh Zayed Road in the direction of Al Yalayes Road eastward.

As part of various phases of the Parallel Roads Project, Al Yalayes Road is being built across 6km extending from the 7th Interchange of the Sheikh Zayed Road to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road at Al Houdh Interchange.

The project is expected to increase the capacity of Al Yalayes Road to almost ten thousand vehicles an hour in each direction.