FNC: authorities urged to take action over dangerous Ras Al Khaimah road

Council members told the major route is particularly hazardous during rainfall

FNC member Naama Al Sharhan raised concerns over a hazardous Ras Al Khaimah road during Tuesday's session. Courtesy: Federal National Council.

Authorities are being urged to address safety concerns over a hazardous stretch of road in Ras Al Khaimah.

The Federal National Council heard how life grinds to a halt when rain falls on the dangerous route linking the Al Shawka area with Al Dhaid and Siji.

FNC member Naama Al Sharhan said lorries should have their access to the road limited.

“The road is two-way, 30 years old, has only two lanes, and when it rains it goes out of order,” Ms Al Sharhan said.

“Pupils cannot go to school, parents cannot go to work. Life completely stops on that major active road when rain falls.”

She showed photos at the FNC session on Tuesday that she had taken of the road three days earlier.

“As you can see the road is very dangerous, and when a lorry passes through, it completely blocks visibility for smaller cars,” she said.

She said 14 people were killed as a result of 18 crashes on the road in 2016.

“The victims included a 30-year-old teacher, and a group of young men.

“I have been receiving complaints from the residents since I ran for FNC elections.”

During the council's session on Tuesday, Ms Al Sharhan asked Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, for the road to be rebuilt to fit in more lanes and prevent flooding during rainfall.
She asked that lorries be allocated specific hours to travel on the road during the day to stop them from getting in the way of regular cars, particularly during peak hours.

“The road needs to be regularly monitored and renovated because of rain,” she said. “There should be alternative roads and bridges for traffic to keep going when there is rain too.”

She also asked Mr Al Mazrouei to accelerate the building of pavements in the Al Ajeeli area of Ras Al Khaimah.

“It is a beautiful site and can be a major tourist attraction, but the roads continue to lack pavements and that is causing a lot of trouble for the residents of the area,” she said.

“Its infrastructure needs to be reconsidered, especially during the rainy season.”

Mr Al Mazrouei said both roads mentioned by the member were considered “local roads” and are under the responsibility of RAK’s local government and not his ministry.

He said the ministry had, however, conducted major paving works in Al Ajeeli in 2018.

During that year, the ministry spent Dh18.5 billion on infrastructure projects, of which Dh7.5bn was used to build bridges and roads throughout the UAE.

“And whenever we receive any complaints [regarding public infrastructure] we contact the concerned local authorities to co-operate with them [on fixing it],” he said.

He also promised the member to follow up on the issues she had raised and offered to visit the concerned authorities to liaise, and to provide technical support and experts to conduct studies.