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Dubai-Sharjah traffic worsens as schools reopen; residents leave home up to 2 hours early

Construction on key routes, like Al Khail Road, Al Mamzar Road and Emirates Road, has also exacerbated the traffic situation between the two emirates

Published: Sat 31 Aug 2024, 6:00 AM

Updated: Sun 1 Sep 2024, 5:21 PM

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With school reopening and construction work ongoing on major routes — like Al Khail, Mamzar, and Emirates roads — Dubai-Sharjah motorists find themselves stuck in gridlock for longer periods over the past few days.

The usual morning rush-hour traffic has worsened, with many drivers commuters now spending hours on roads as the congestion begins as early as 6am.

“I leave one and a half hours early, driving from Sharjah to Dubai. There was not much traffic during summer break, but it has increased dramatically this week. Just entering Dubai from Sharjah’s main arteries takes nearly one and a half hours,” said Waqas Saghar, who works in a delivery company.

Photo: Traffic situation at 7.30 pm on Thursday

Photo: Traffic situation at 7.30 pm on Thursday

“Whichever road we take – Al Ittihad Road, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road, or Beirut Street – there are long queues of vehicles. It is quite a challenge to reach the MBZ Road due to the congestion at exits and long waiting times at traffic signals on Beirut Street. Al Ittihad Road's morning traffic jam towards Dubai used to start after Safeer Mall during summer. But now it stretches back to Sharjah City Centre sometimes. Therefore, now it takes me one and a half hours to reach Dubai,” said Sagar.

“If I take a Salik road, it will take an hour to reach Dubai, but if I take non-Salik road, I have to spend another 30 minutes in traffic.”

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Amr Abdel Salam, a kitchen appliances store owner in Abu Hail and a resident of Sharjah’s Al Tawoon, said that during the summer vacation, he would leave home at 8am and reach office by 8.30am. “But now, with schools reopening, I leave much earlier because I have to drop my children at Al Ittihad School in Al Mamzar. What used to be just a half-hour drive now requires me to leave home two hours earlier, by 6am, so as to ensure they get to school on time,” said Salam.

“On my way back home for lunch around 2pm, I pick up my children from school, and it takes over an hour due to the school traffic. The distance from my home to school and then to office is just 15 minutes when the roads are clear. But now it is taking me more than 45 minutes now. The roads are congested even when even when I am returning to office after lunch at home, or returning home from office after 9pm, taking me at least 50 minutes,” said Salam.

Anum Noor, who regularly commutes between Sharjah and Dubai, has also started to leave around 40 to 45 minutes early to reach her office on time.

“Yes, traffic has dramatically increased from this week as schools have resumed. Everyone is worried about the increase in traffic volume these days. But it is mainly the Sharjah-Dubai traffic which is the talk of the town. Even in the evenings, it is taking us longer to return to Sharjah,” said Noor.

The situation has prompted many residents to explore alternative routes or even consider carpooling. However, the daily commute remains a challenge for thousands of people travelling between Dubai and Sharjah.

Mohammed AbuNael, a marketing executive at a gifting firm, said he has been trying different routes and even considered carpooling with neighbours. "But it feels like there are no easy solutions. Every road is congested, and no matter what I try, the commute between Dubai and Sharjah remains a daily struggle while going to the office and even worse during return,” he said.

“All we can do is hope that the traffic eases as the school year progresses, but right now, it looks difficult because of construction on Al Khail Road, Al Mamzar, and Emirates Road."

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