Two bridges reopen in Sharjah

Work on the Arouba Street structures had caused major congestion for the last six weeks.

SHARJAH // Tailbacks are easing and traffic returned to normal on most Sharjah Roads today after the re-opening of the two bridges on the emirate's major highway, which had been closed for the last six weeks for renovation.

The Sharjah Department of Public Works rebuilt the 120-metre Sharjah Bridge and the 80-metre Khalidiya Bridge at a cost of Dh8 million. Both bridges run along the busy Al Arouba Street.

"All the bridges have been tested thoroughly after the maintenance," said Amal Al Khamis, the deputy director of roads construction at the department. " We intended to fix the problem on schedule to allow people tp go shopping for Eid with no traffic congestion."

Al Arouba Street connects Sharjah city to Ajman and the other Northern Emirates.

Closing the two bridges in the heart of the city, just opposite Al Jubail bus station, Sharjah Central Souq, Sharjah Fish Market and Al Jazeera park, caused severe traffic disruptions that affected most roads.

"It's good for the road to be open at this time, as people would be moving around for Eid shopping," said Niazi Salarzai, a taxi driver. "Closing the roads to the central souq and fish market would have made shopping for Eid hard for our commuters, as most of them do not want to move around thinking we are intentionally trying to make them pay more."

Motorists had also complained of potholes on Al Arouba.

On Sunday, traffic was smooth on Buhairah Corniche Road, Jamal Abdul Nasser Road, Al Wahda Road and Al Arouba Street itself, all of which had been clogged with traffic during construction.