Dh1.3bn road projects open path to Dubai Expo 2020

Two of the six road work phases opened on Saturday

Phases 2 and 4 of the roads leading to Expo 2020 project completed on Saturday. This is the newly built intersection between Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street and Expo Road. Courtesy Roads and Show more

A Dh1.3 billion network of main roads leading to the Expo 2020 Dubai site opened on Saturday.

The completed projects included two of the six phases of road works due to finish before the world fair begins next year.

Phases 3 and 4 included widening Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan street from two to five lanes in each direction, and building two bridges and two flyovers connecting Al Yalayis Street and Expo Road to Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan street.

“The improvement of roads leading to Expo is one of the biggest road projects currently undertaken by RTA to meet the needs of hosting Expo 2020 in Dubai,” said Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the Roads and Transport Authority.

“Due to the immense nature of the project, it was divided into six phases to ensure the delivery of all works on the prescribed timeline, well before the opening of Expo.”

A flyover at the intersection of Expo Road with Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street was built to increase the capacity of the street from 2,000 to 4,500 vehicles an hour.

Two bridges measuring 3km and 6.5km were also built over Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street.

Traffic light junctions were converted into flyovers to streamline traffic and boost capacity from 3,000 to 10,000 vehicles an hour.

Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street was also widened to five lanes in each direction over a 4.6 km stretch.

Phases 5 and 6 remain to be completed. These include improvements of Expo Road and the construction of a junction between Expo and Emirates roads.