Dubai: Two new Salik toll gates to be added on major roads

Two new toll gates will be added in Dubai, Salik Company PJSC (Salik), Dubai’s exclusive toll gate operator announced on Friday.

The two new gates will be located at Business Bay Crossing on Al Khail Road, and Al Safa South on Sheikh Zayed Road between Al Meydan Street and Umm Al Sheif Street.

Salik said the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has formally assigned the company “to install two new toll gates to optimise traffic flow and reduce congestion on key routes within Dubai.”

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The two locations have been selected based on extensive traffic movement studies by the RTA. Their objective is to manage traffic distribution and reduce congestion by rerouting some traffic to alternative routes with greater capacity, facilitating smoother and more efficient travel for all motorists in Dubai.

Start of operations

The two new toll gates will be operational in November this year, increasing Salik’s total number of toll gates in Dubai from eight to ten. The existing toll gates are in Al Barsha, Al Garhoud Bridge, Al Maktoum Bridge, Al Mamzar South, Al Mamzar North, Al Safa, Airport Tunnel, Jebel Ali.

Each time a vehicle passes through a Salik toll gate, the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology detects the vehicle and scans the Salik sticker tag. A toll fee of Dh4 is automatically deducted from the motorist’s prepaid toll account.

Salik said, “Similar to Al Mamzar North and South, the upcoming Al Safa South will be linked with the existing Al Safa gate (Al Safa North), and motorists will be charged only once if they pass through the two gates within one hour in the same direction."

Easing traffic congestion

The RTA expects the Business Bay Crossing gate to assist in improving traffic congestion by 12 to 15 per cent on Al Khail Road, reducing traffic volume by 10-16 per cent on Al Rabat Street, and redistributing traffic to Al Maktoum and Al Garhoud bridges and Ras Al Khor Street.

Similarly, Al Safa South is expected to reduce right-turn traffic volume from Sheikh Zayed Road to Meydan Street by 15 per cent and optimise traffic flow on Financial Centre, First Al Khail, and Al Asayel streets.

Growth plan

Salik CEO Ibrahim Sultan Al Haddad noted: “The addition of new toll gates in two increasingly busy locations marks the latest milestone in the growth plan that we set out at the time of Salik’s initial public offering.”

Salik was established as a public joint stock company in June 2022. With 8 toll gates located at strategic junctures — especially on Sheikh Zayed Road, which is considered as the city's main arterial highway — around 539 million journeys were recorded through Salik’s toll gates in 2022.

Al Haddad said: “Our partnership with RTA in launching these new gates is another important step in our journey to enhancing Dubai’s transport infrastructure with smart and sustainable mobility solutions. The two new gates aim to improve overall mobility throughout the city, facilitating smoother and more efficient travel for road users.”

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