Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has opened a new 800-metre tunnel along Umm Suqeim Street. The tunnel features four lanes in each direction. It is expected to significantly improve traffic flow between Al Khail Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road.
The project is part of a 4.6-kilometre upgrade of Umm Suqeim Street. It forms a key link in the development of the Umm Suqeim–Al Qudra corridor. This corridor stretches 16 kilometres from Jumeirah Street to Emirates Road.
The newly opened tunnel increases Umm Suqeim Street’s capacity to 16,000 vehicles per hour in both directions. According to RTA, it also reduces travel time between Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Al Khail Road by 61 per cent. Journey time on this stretch has dropped from 9.7 minutes to just 3.8 minutes.
RTA said the upgraded road will benefit over one million residents. Communities expected to see improvements include Al Barsha South 1, 2 and 3, Dubai Hills, Arjan and Dubai Science Park.
Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors at RTA, said the project strengthens connectivity between major Dubai corridors. These include Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Khail Road, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road.
The wider project also involved the reconstruction of the intersection at Umm Suqeim Street and Al Barsha South Street, near Kings’ School. The new underpass has been integrated with a surface-level signalised junction to help ease congestion further.
Al Tayer said the project is one of Dubai’s most strategic initiatives to improve east–west traffic movement. He also highlighted the use of smart technologies during construction. Drones equipped with artificial intelligence were used to collect and analyse data in real time. This reduced field survey time by 60 per cent.
"Additionally, time-lapse imaging was employed to continuously track construction progress, increasing monitoring efficiency by 40 per cent", said Al Tayer.
The current tunnel project builds on earlier phases. In 2013, RTA completed Phase I, which included two three-lane bridges between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road. That phase also introduced two signalised intersections and three pedestrian bridges between Al Quoz and Al Barsha.
In 2020, a 500-metre bridge was opened at the intersection of Umm Suqeim Street and the entrance to Dubai Hills and Al Barsha South. That bridge also supports 16,000 vehicles per hour and was built as part of infrastructure upgrades for Dubai Hills Mall.