Plan to improve residential roads

Ajman Municipality has begun a Dh250 million project to repair roads and build new ones.

AJMAN // Ajman Municipality has begun a Dh250 million (US$68m) project to repair feeder roads in residential areas and to build new ones. The project is part of a Dh3 billion plan to improve the road network throughout the emirate. Ahmed Abdrazaq al Awadhi, the director of the municipality's engineering section, said the plan was to enable the feeder network, particularly roads to government and private schools, to cope with the emirate's rapid development.

Mr Awadhi said at a press conference that work had begun last week in Musheiref, Humaidiya, Zahra, Julfa, Naeemiya, Sawan, Karama and industrial areas. In such areas as Humaidiya, where there are not enough feeder roads, they would be built, he said. "We have already designed the plans for the interior roads in Humaidiya. We will soon be putting the paper designs in action." Small feeder roads caused congestion and accidents in some areas. "We will turn most of these small roads into one-way roads and also create others to beat the shortages," Mr Awadhi said. That would help to reduce traffic congestion on main roads.

"Our plan is to dedicate these three years to infrastructural development all over the emirate. Our road design plans can accommodate future population growth and economic development for 20 years to come." Authorities emphasised at a recent public forum that expanding roads and building new ones was one of the major undertakings of the municipality's four-year plan for development for 2009-2013. In May, the Government announced a Dh3bn, three-year project to develop the emirate's roads.

Main roads to be expanded include Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Street, linking Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Road with Sheikh Khalifa and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed roads. Zorah Street will also be expanded. Developing Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Road would include building three tunnels, expanding the road to three lanes on each side and increasing its length to four kilometres to ensure a smooth flow of traffic, Mr Awadhi said.

Linking Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Road with Sheikh Khalifa and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed roads would include building a tunnel under Humaidiya bridge and building another bridge to link to Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Road. Dh325m will be spent to build four major bridges, including a 500-metre bridge on Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Road that would be the longest in the emirate. Bridges will also be built at the intersection of Sheikh Maktoum bin Omar Al Aas Road, at the intersection of Zahra Street with Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Road, and on Naeemiya Road.

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