While traffic woes are nothing new for residents, Fridays are usually expected to bring a brief break as roads tend to be lighter on the city’s last working day
Multiple collisions are causing massive tailbacks along the Ras Al Khor Road in the direction of Meydan and Downtown Dubai. Motorists on the E44, a key artery, have reported delays of up to 30 minutes along the stretch.
“I’ve been stuck at the same stretch for 20 minutes now and on this highway for an hour. My usual commute is about 25 minutes,” said expat Ann George.
“It’s been a complete standstill for 23 minutes,” said MT, a sales professional trying to access Business Bay. “I left home at 9am. It is 10.15am and I now have to let my client know I’m going to be delayed for our appointment.”
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
Others are using humour to cope. “I feel like I’ve been in the world’s slowest race with the Mini Cooper next to me for the last half hour,” MT said.
The intense bottleneck seems to be due, in part at least, to at least three collisions reported on Google Maps. One motorist confirmed how three police cars and one ambulance whizzed by them earlier, sirens blaring.
Motorists are having to manage expectations around constantly changing information related to arrival times. “At first, Maps indicated I would reach my destination by 10am. That became 10.10am, 10.27am, and now it says 10.45am. On the one hand, it’s frustrating. On the other, I have to remind myself that there are people involved in collisions right now, so they’re probably having a worse day. I hope they’re okay.”
Some motorists also received lane closure alerts (see below).
While traffic woes are not new for residents, motorists usually expect Fridays to offer a little respite from the daily grind as traffic tends to be a little lighter on what is the last working day of the week for many in the city.
For now, if still planning your commute, motorists are advised to consider alternative routes.
