Annual costs from Dubai road snarls

Dubai - It is estimated that the average delay in journey time for drivers is around 15 minutes.

The main areas generally affected during peak times are the routes from Sharjah to/from Dubai, E11 Shaikh Zayed Road, especially in the vicinity of the World Trade Centre, and Deira. However, it only takes a minor accident or incident such as a broken down vehicle to rapidly cause congestion at other places on the network. There is often congestion at off-slips from the main roads e.g. E11 onto Hessa Street, Umm Sequim Road etc.
It is estimated that the average delay in journey time for drivers is around 15 minutes. However, some journey times can double at peak times e.g. Jebel Ali/Dubai Marina to DXB airport can increase from around 30-40 minutes to over an hour.
Estimates suggest annual costs from congestion in Dubai may exceed Dh4.6 billion. The cost for individuals delayed by congestion will vary considerably depending upon the reason for the journey etc. For example the cost of congestion for somebody going shopping, or on the school run, may be less than that for someone who is delivering or travelling for business. Health-wise, congestion can increase harmful emissions and lead to increased stress, especially if somebody is running late. Naturally, if the congestion is anticipated - as it might be by regular commuters - drivers will generally allow more time for their journey. This can impact upon their time at home or productivity levels during the day. It can also make travelling very stressful even if the journey is not time-critical. One of the biggest problems is that journey times are unreliable, so you cannot necessarily estimate how long a journey will take.
The author is the principal consultant (Road Safety & Incident Management) at Transport Research Laboratory.
Upcoming projects to ease traffic
Which are the congested areas you see and what are the solutions to be adopted both in the long and short term? 
From RTA's annual evaluation conducted for road network performance, these are the problem areas and RTA's plan to resolve them in the short and long term. 
Airport Road: RTA is currently constructing free flow inter-changes (expected to finish in Nov 2017).
Al-Houd R/A (Al Yalayes with Shaikh MBZ road: RTA is currently constructing free flow inter-changes.
Interchange 7 on Shaikh Zayed Road: RTA is currently constructing free flow interchanges.
Road D59 in Discovery Gardens: Parallel roads passing through Al-Furjan development will provide more accesses to other developments and reduce traffic on D59 Rd (expected to finish mid-2018).
Shindagha Tunnel & CBD areas: RTA is currently finalising the design for improvement of Al-Mina Street, Shindagha Bridge and Al Khaleej Street (expected 2020).
 

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