Capital shortcut for those in the know

Matt Kwong and Jen Gerson

• Last Updated: November 14. 2009 10:11PM UAE / November 14. 2009 6:11PM GMT

ABU DHABI // As many as 20 minutes can be shaved off commuting times into and out of Abu Dhabi by using the newly opened Sheikh Khalifa Bridge and motorway, which connects the Meena district with Saadiyat and Yas islands.

But the 10-lane highway that bisects what will one day become the emirate’s cultural district has so far been underused, officials say.

The route opened on October 14, in time to help fans going to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix reach Yas Island, but it has been lightly publicised.

It could save 20 minutes for drivers getting on and off the island near the Meena district, said Col Hussain al Harthi, the head of traffic engineering and road safety for the Ministry of Interior.

“It’s a shortcut to Abu Dhabi, to Shahama and to Dubai,” he said.

How much of a shortcut depends on what part of the city you start from the closer to the Corniche and the Meena district, the more likely you are to save time.

The National took a test run and found that from the newspaper’s office, which is on 15th Street, it actually took 10 minutes longer to reach Al Bahia via the new route.

Driving from the newspaper to the Corniche and then across the Sheikh Khalifa bridge, it took 47 minutes to reach the first Al Bahia plaza, a distance of 45km.

Taking Airport Road and then the Abu Dhabi-Dubai motorway, it took 37 minutes to reach Al Bahia, a distance of 37km. That included heavy traffic until the bottleneck opened up after Al Maqta Bridge.

Samer Abu Eiea, 32, makes the same journey almost daily from his shop along Airport Road to his flat at Al Bahia.

On Thursday, the Palestinian furniture salesman estimated his trip home took nearly half an hour, travelling in his Hyundai Azera on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai motorway.

“Airport Road is faster for me because of my work,” he said. “But if you work at Meena Road, then [the new bridge] I think is better.”

He had driven the Sheikh Khalifa Bridge route twice, he said, but only because he was already near the Meena Port area.

“Those times, it took me 15 minutes,” he said.

He estimated commuting from his work place via the new route would take about 45 minutes.

Mohammed Khalifa, 32, also lives in Al Bahia and commutes to his office on Salam Street. He said the trip takes about 25 minutes.

He said he had never driven over the new bridge but wanted to try it after being told it could save him a few minutes during rush hour.

Mohammed Dawood, a 31-year-old Iraqi, was stocking up on water and snacks at Al Bahia’s CityGate Supermarket last week before driving to downtown Abu Dhabi.

The mechanical engineer said he preferred the new Sheikh Khalifa route because it bypasses frustrating construction on Airport Road.

“If you go from Airport or Muroor, it’s too much traffic because of construction,” he said. “It takes maybe half an hour because there’s a lot of cars. And this is a problem because Salam Street is closed.”

By comparison, he said, the new bridge has six open lanes that take him from Meena Port to Al Bahia in 15 to 20 minutes.

He did have one gripe: the lack of petrol stations and rest stops on the new road.

Nizar Ahmed, who manages dispatch operations for lorry drivers at the Royal Bakery & Market in Al Bahia, sends lorries along both routes.

“Somebody go Airport Road, somebody go new bridge,” said Mr Ahmed, a 33-year-old Indian.

Lorry drivers closer to Meena Port usually take the new road and drive about 20 minutes back to Al Bahia. Those closer to Airport Road might take 35 minutes to return along that route, he said.

The new route, which begins next to the British Club, is poorly marked, which may be one reason many people do not know about it.

John Geranis, 35, a manager at an oil company from the UK, said he had not heard of the bridge and still thought Saadiyat Island was closed to traffic.

“I go to the British Club on occasion and always noticed the construction,” he said. “I had no idea that a new route had opened, but I’ll soon try it out.”

The lack of traffic on the new bridge helps create faster commuting times sometimes too fast, Col al Harthi said. The wide, open road has proven a temptation for speeders.

“We have mobile radar units set up now and will have fixed radar within the next month,” he said.

The speed limit is 120kph, and fines range from Dh600 (US$163) to Dh900.

Col al Harthi said he did not expect the motorway to gain widespread appeal until more of Saadiyat island was open, which may be decades away.

“Not before the next 20 years,” he said.

He predicted the Sheikh Zayed bridge, which will open next year and offer another path out of Abu Dhabi parallel to the Maqta and Mussafah bridges, would prove to be more popular in the meantime.


mkwong@thenational.ae
jgerson@thenational.ae