Abu Dhabi road toll gate to be moved to 'avoid evasion'

The gantry in Mussaffah will be moved onto the bridge to stop motorists from driving around it

Drivers are typically charged Dh300 per speeding offence. Victor Besa / The National

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One of Abu Dhabi's toll gates will be moved to ensure motorists entering and leaving the island cannot avoid it.

Mussaffah toll gate will be moved onto the bridge before the road tolls come into effect on October 15.

Currently, the toll gate is positioned off-island just after Mussaffah Bridge, rather than on the bridge as with the other tolls.

Motorists travelling into the city could have left the main Khaleej Al Arabi Street and taken the exit onto Bawabat Abu Dhabi Street to avoid paying the Dh4 rush hour tariff. The charge is Dh2 outside of rush hour.

Speaking at a lecture organised by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court, Ebrahim Al Hamoudi, executive director of Department of Transport, said the gate would be placed closer to the Bawabat Abu Dhabi interchange.

He said the residential area would have been overcome with heavy traffic congestion by drivers cutting through to avoid the gantry, Arabic language newspaper Al Bayan reported.

This week, Abu Dhabi Police officials said the tolls will boost safety and improve traffic flow.

Motorists entering and leaving Abu Dhabi island will face charges from next week as part of efforts to reduce congestion and encourage drivers to use public transport.

Four toll gates will be placed at the Sheikh Zayed, Maqta, Mussaffah and Sheikh Khalifa bridges.

“The tolls will help police to enhance road safety and management,” said Maj Ahmad Al Shamsi of Abu Dhabi Police at the World Road Congress on Sunday.

“Every road faces challenges but this technology has been invested in and we will soon see that it is effective.”