Ruwais residents brace for traffic woes as Etihad Rail bridge construction starts

The Department of Transport has announced that the Old Ruwais Highway (E11) will be closed to traffic from Sunday (September 7) until December 17 to construct a new railway bridge.

RUWAIS // Residents are bracing themselves for months of potential traffic misery because of the temporary closure of a main road, but expect the work to benefit the area in the long run.

The Department of Transport has announced that the Old Ruwais Highway (E11) will be closed to traffic from Sunday until December 17 to build a new railway bridge. The work is part of the Etihad Rail plan to build 1,200km of railways across the UAE.

But residents of Ruwais were concerned that the closure would add to traffic problems in the area.

“People are now using Ghayathi road [E15] as an alternative, but it is a longer route and has lots of traffic jams,” said A. Ahmed, a resident.

“The road is also congested with construction vehicles,” Mr Ahmed said. He did, however, believe that once the railway was finished it would ease the difficulties of commuting from Ruwais into Abu Dhabi.

“Once we have the rail, things will become very convenient,” he said.

Nazim, an engineer who works in Ruwais, was concerned that the suggested alternate route during the closure was not convenient to use.

“The E15 road is a longer route and there is a lot of heavy traffic during peak hours,” he said.

He added that there were several labour camps along the E15 route, which meant the road was often congested with buses and lorries.

“On this road, we face traffic jams in the morning and the evening,” he said.

He hoped Etihad Rail would not be only for industrial use, but would offer passenger services too.

“If that happens, it will be a great convenience for all of us,” he said. He also urged authorities to widen the E11 road.

“Right now it is just two lanes,” he said. “One of the lanes used is jam packed with heavy construction vehicles while the other is occupied by speeding drivers.

“If we have more lanes then it will be safer to drive along there.”

He also mentioned the numerous U-turn junctions on the E11, which he believed were dangerous and the cause of many accidents.

“It would be great if we had interchanges or exits instead of U-turns,” he said.