About 83 per cent of the work on the Dh2.1-billion ($572 million) Abu Dhabi-Dubai speedway project has been completed and is on track for delivery by the end of the year, said senior officials of Abu Dhabi General Services Company (Musanada).

The 62-km highway project, which extends from Seih Shuaib area to Sweihan Interchange, is being developed in two packages (A and B) involving four lanes in both directions, they stated.

It is an extension of the Mohamed bin Zayed Road in Seih Shuaib at the Dubai border. Starting from Seih Shuaib on the way to Abu Dhabi, it will enter the Forest Belt, Al Maha Forest, Kizad, Bida Khalifa, crossing the Al Ajban Road, passing through Abu Mureikha, Zayed Military City, Al Falah area to Sweihan Interchange on Abu Dhabi-Sweihan Road.

The project will also include six interchanges, including the Kizad Interchange, in addition to six underground passes. The work is progressing as per schedule and is expected to be ready during the last quarter of this year, said senior officials.

Hamdan Al Marzouei, the acting roads director at Musanada, said: "This road project will provide a new link to Abu Dhabi city, towards the international airport and Yas in addition to Saadiyat islands."

"It will help improve traffic flow between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, easing traffic congestion and reducing the accident rates," he noted.

The execution of this new highway has followed a detailed study of the conditions and volume of daily traffic between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, he stated.

On completion, the four-lane highway will boast a capacity of 8,000 vehicles per hour, that is 2,000 vehicles on each lane, said the statement.

Functioning as an alternative route to the existing E11 Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway, the new motorway will form a strategic link that will provide an additional capacity to traffic movement particularly during peak hours, it added.-TradeArabia News Service