FUJAIRAH // Work has got under way to widen a 3-kilometre stretch on the E99, or Al Faseel Road, to three lanes.
The roadworks, scheduled to take five months, extend from Al Dallah roundabout in front of the Hilton Hotel to the beach roundabout.
“The upgrade of Al Faseel road will solve the traffic problems and save time,” said Salem Al Mukasah, manager of Fujairah Public Works.
But motorists and shop owners have mixed feelings about the move.
“I believe this project will solve the traffic problems in the area,” said Emirati Mohammed Al Awadi, 30. “It’s getting worse now with the detour, but it definitely will become a solution in the future.”
Beauty centre owner Carolen Sabbagh, 35, from Lebanon, said some of her customers had been inconvenienced by the work.
“The construction started two weeks ago and some of my customers have complained about the detour,” Ms Sabbagh said.
“There used to be a U-turn in front of the centre but now after the construction it no longer exists, so they need to drive until the beach roundabout and come back again.”
Rashid Saeed, 39, an Emirati who owns a mobile phone shop in Al Ghurfa said: “The problem is not with the size of the road, the real issue is with the roundabout. Instead of adding more lanes they should remove the roundabout and replace it with either a bridge or traffic lights.”
rhaza@thenational.ae