Sheikh Zayed Road Widened to Alleviate Evening Gridlock

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has opened a newly widened section of Sheikh Zayed Road near the Umm Al Sheif Street exit, expanding one direction from six lanes to seven over a 700-metre stretch. The upgrade increases capacity by about 16 per cent, allowing up to 14,000 vehicles per hour through that section.

The work focuses on traffic flowing from Abu Dhabi towards central Dubai, a corridor long plagued by congestion at the Umm Al Sheif junction. Overlapping traffic movements at that exit, especially during evening peak hours, had caused key bottlenecks; the added lane is intended to ease those pressure points.

Sheikh Zayed Road is one of Dubai’s most vital highways. It connects múltiple residential neighbourhoods with major commercial and financial districts, passing by landmarks such as the Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa, and the Dubai International Financial Centre. As such, any change along its course affects both daily commuters and the broader economy.

The Roads and Transport Authority has framed the widening as part of a broader strategy to improve traffic flow across the emirate. Other enhancement projects are underway or planned in various high-traffic zones, aiming not just at capacity increases, but also enhancing safety by lowering traffic density and reducing overlaps in turning and merging lanes.