Sharjah's King Faisal Road opens partially

Sharjah RTA reopens King Faisal road

After two months of partial closure, one side of the King Faisal Road has got a facelift and is now open to traffic in the Dubai to Sharjah direction.
However, the arterial road has been partially closed for three months starting Thursday in the opposite direction in collaboration with the Sharjah Police, as part of the second phase of the development works.
The Dh14.8m two-phase project, spanning the development of the 4km (2km in each direction) road, has cost the Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority (SRTA) an additional Dh3.4 million, added to the initially announced budget of Dh11.4 million.
Residents and drivers, though happy about the opening of the road, are still worried about the expected congestion after the partial closure of the road from the Etihad square opposite Abu Shagara and Qasimiya areas to King Faisal Bridge.
Wafaa Saqr, teacher, said she has been suffering a lot from the daily traffic knots due to the partial closure of the major road. "Hopefully, they will find a way out to this daily pain."
Sherif Al Wakeel, a contractor and father of two school-going boys, said there should be more diversions and exits to ease the daily congestion. "I wish they had postponed the development works till the end of the academic year so that we do not get terribly stuck every day."
To ease residents' suffering the SRTA has opened additional temporary entries and these are changed during peak hours. Also, cars are banned from being parked there.
The maintenance works of the three-lane batch of the road include the construction of service roads, he stated. "Part of the asphalt layer will be removed, renewed, painted, and marked again in line with the highest safety standards."
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com