Widening begins on Salam Street

Road widening has started on Salam Street from the Al Saada Bridge to 29th Street, the municipality says.

Abu Dhabi // Road widening has started on Salam Street from the Al Saada Bridge to 29th Street, the municipality said yesterday. The construction marks the beginning of work under the last of four contracts that make up the Dh5 billion (US$1.36bn) Salam Street expressway project. The road will be expanded to four lanes and the present intersections will be reconfigured into restricted-access interchanges. The widening work is expected to be completed by May 2010.

Meanwhile, three lanes will remain open, the municipality said. Road signs and barriers have been set up to provide directions and help ensure motorists' safety. The Salam Street project will create a freeway that allows vehicles to travel from the Meena area to the new Sheikh Zayed Bridge without facing a traffic signal. The new road will carry twice as many vehicles as the old road. The project's centrepiece is a 3.2km, eight-lane tunnel being built from Al Falah Street to Al Meena Road near Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, at an estimated cost of Dh3.1bn. Elsewhere, traffic will flow on three levels where Salam meets Hazza bin Zayed Street, and a bridge will link the old city to the Reem Island development.

All the work is slated for completion by the end of 2010. [e-mail]