ABU DHABI // Drivers who want to change directions on Salam Street will find themselves taking a much longer route from today.
The two U-turns on the road - one by Hazza bin Zayed Road (number 11) and one by Al Falah Road (number 9) - have been shut by Abu Dhabi Municipality. They used to create traffic jams that extended back to the Tourist Club Area.
The municipality said it had closed them to "enhance road safety, facilitate traffic flow and complete Al Salam Street, which will be the first freeway on Abu Dhabi Island". Drivers can instead use the intersections across Al Salam and Eastern Ring Road, which have been recently completed.
Once roadworks are finished, the expressway and network of tunnels will provide free-flowing movement for an estimated 6,000 vehicles per hour. Drivers will be able to head into the city through Salam Street from the Sheikh Zayed Bridge all the way to Mina Zayed without encountering a traffic light.
