The traffic situation between Dubai and Sharjah has worsened due to the reopening of schools and ongoing construction on key routes such as Al Khail Road, Al Mamzar Road and Emirates Road.
The typical morning rush has become more challenging as commuters try to maneuver through increased traffic congestion. The traffic problems have also been aggravated by the rise in families coming back to the emirate and the higher amount of school buses.
A lot of commuters are currently stuck in traffic for hours, with congestion beginning as early as 6 am. I depart from Sharjah to Dubai 90 minutes ahead of time. During summer break, there was minimal traffic, but it has surged significantly this week. Waqas Saghar, who works for a delivery company, stated that it takes close to ninety minutes to travel from Sharjah’s main roads to Dubai.
No matter which road we choose – Al Ittihad Road, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road, or Beirut Street – there are extensive lines of cars. Getting to SMBZ Road is difficult because of traffic congestion at exits and lengthy waits at traffic lights along Beirut Street. During the summer, the traffic congestion on Al Ittihad Road towards Dubai would typically begin after Safeer Mall in the mornings.
However, it now occasionally extends all the way back to Sharjah City Centre. Sagar explained that it now takes him 1.5 hours to get to Dubai. He mentioned that using Salik road would only take an hour, but without it, he has to spend an additional 30 minutes in traffic.
Anum Noor, who frequently travels between Sharjah and Dubai, has recently begun departing for work 40-45 minutes ahead of schedule to ensure she arrives at the office on time. Yes, there has been a significant rise in traffic this week due to the reopening of schools. These days, everyone is concerned about the rising traffic levels. However, the focus is mostly on the traffic between Sharjah and Dubai. “Noor mentioned that it is also taking us more time to get back to Sharjah in the evening.”
Many residents are now considering carpooling or looking for alternative routes due to the situation. Still, the daily journey poses difficulties for many individuals commuting from Dubai to Sharjah.
Mohammed AbuNael, a marketing executive in a gifting company, mentioned that he has been experimenting with various routes and has even thought about sharing rides with neighbors. However, it seems that there are no straightforward answers available. He mentioned that the daily journey between Dubai and Sharjah is always challenging due to heavy traffic on every road, making the commute to and from work a struggle.
We can only hope that traffic improves as the school year goes on, but currently, the construction on Al Khail Road, Al Mamzar, and Emirates Road is making it challenging.
During the summer break, Amr Abdel Salam, who owns a kitchen appliances store in Abu Hail and lives in Sharjah’s Al Tawoon, mentioned that he would depart from his house at 8:00 am and arrive at the office by 8:30 am. Now that schools have reopened, I have to leave much earlier in order to take my children to Al Ittihad School in Al Mamzar. Salam said that he now needs to leave home two hours earlier at 6:00 am in order to ensure they arrive at school on time, instead of just a half-hour drive.
