Travelling along Dubai-Sharjah road a nightmare for commuters

Sharjah - Sharjah traffic authorities are calling for patience as pending road projects will be completed soon

It's the same story every working day for Abdulla Khalig Abdulla, who lives in Sharjah and works in Al Ghusais, Dubai. The traffic. "I'm sick with stress; it's only getting worse," he says.
Sharjah traffic authorities, however, are calling for patience as pending road projects will be completed soon. Motorists like Abdullah who travel to Dubai for work spend 3-4 hours daily on the road. They blame diversions for delays. Authorities say it's for the larger good, a small price to pay for a better road network which could make long drives less stressful.
Bakri Abid lives in Ajman, but travels to Dubai via Sharjah - a distance of 50km daily. "I wake up at 3am to hit the road by 4.30am to avoid traffic jams." He needs to be in office by 7.30am and hopes all these road works will be done on time. "These projects they are talking about, when completed, will help me get more sleep.''
Asif Saeed is another Sharjah resident who claims his blood pressure is up because he spends more of his working life behind the wheel. "It's affecting my health," he says ruefully. Foggy conditions in recent days and diversions are leaving him at wits end. Traffic and police officials say solutions need to be long term, for the next 20 years, keeping in mind the annual increase in the population and number of vehicles on Sharjah's roads.
More people, especially from war-torn countries in the region, consider Sharjah as an affordable option and prefer to move here because of cheaper rents. Officials at the vehicles registration department in Sharjah say the number of cars registered in Dubai was over 1.5 million in 2016. Most owners of these cars live in Sharjah and work in Dubai.
Sharjah Police have held several meetings with the Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to improve coordination to smoothen the flow of traffic in the emirate.
Brigadier Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, General Commander of the police force says his team has studied the traffic situation on all the roads, including Emirates Road, Al Wahda Street and has looked into the causes that lead to traffic jams, especially during peak hours.
He added that the police are making great efforts in coordinating with the departments concerned to find alternative solutions.
Colonel Abdul Rahman Al Shawaf, Director of Patrol and Traffic Department, says talks have been fruitful and projects are in full swing.
These include foot bridges on Al Ittihad Road and regulating heavy truck movements from Khalid Port through Al Nahda. Reducing the speed limits on stretches of Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road and in Malaiha, Nazawi, Al Dhaid, Al Madam roads are being considered by the authorities.
Many curious motorists slow down on highways and internal roads to watch traffic accidents, which leads to more chaos. "Police will impose hefty fines for onlookers who slow down traffic," a top official at Sharjah Police says.
afkar@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah