A number of road and bridge projects have just been opened by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Chairman and Executive Director Mattar Al Tayer has announced.

This includes Financial Centre Road which has four lanes in each direction, giving a capacity of 16,000 vehicles per hour.

A new bridge over Al Khail Road has been opened to serve traffic coming from Interchange One on Sheikh Zayed Road at the Dubai Mall. Al Tayer said the next few months would see the completion of a number of other projects. They would include the penultimate phase of the Dubai Bypass road widening and improvement project, Al Qudrah Bridge, Mirdiff Junction, entry and exit points for bridges leading to the Dubai Metro's Rashidiya station and phase II of improvements to Al Ittihad Road – connecting with Sharjah.

"Opening these projects is part of the RTA's efforts to ease traffic congestion, raise road capacity and ensure smooth traffic flow in the emirate," he added. "On September 20 the RTA will open the bridge linking Zaabeel with Burj Dubai and all construction works on the project will be completed by the end of September.

"Opening Financial Centre Road is crucial for easing traffic jams in that vital area, which is witnessing significant development projects, ensuring smooth traffic flow and boosting the road intake, particularly vehicular movements from Sheikh Zayed Road and Jumeirah towards Al Khail Road through this east-west corridor."

He said two intersections with traffic lights had been built at the junction of Financial Centre Road and the Eastern Parallel Road.

"The traffic signal at the intersection with the Western Parallel Road has also been modified to become a four-way signal. In addition the RTA has earlier opened a three-lane Jumeirah-bound flyover and a five-lane Business Bay Crossing-bound flyover at Al Khail Road, enabling smooth traffic movement to and from the new Ras Al Khor corridor.

"To further integrate the road network in the area two tunnels have been added to ensure seamless traffic flow on the junctions of the eastern and western parallel roads with Financial Centre Road." Other routes that have opened include Bridge No2 on Al Ittihad Road, a two-lane bridge stretching for 500m in the direction from Sharjah to Dubai International Airport.

At the beginning of October the bridge inbound from Al Garhoud and outbound to the Clock Tower Roundabout will be opened and the tunnel will be opened by the end of November this year." He said these were parts of phase II of Al Ittihad Road improvement project, which will be mostly completed by the end of this year.

"The RTA will continue with the construction of several key and arterial road improvement and widening projects in Dubai as part of an integrated strategy to curb traffic jams, introduce advanced services to the residential areas, meet the requirements of urban and demographic growth and provide practical and comprehensive solutions to ensure smooth traffic flow," he said.

More than 38,000 travel by metro in a single day

Statistics from RTA's Rail Agency revealed that on Sunday more than 38 thousand and 841 passengers had travelled by Dubai Metro's Red Line via ten stations.

Peyman Younes Parham, Director of RTA's Marketing and Corporate Communication confirmed that these figures represent an impressive number, reflecting the size of a rush to commute by Dubai Metro.

"We are proud that this was achieved in one day only. It is the evidence that the public transport is thriving through the latest and best mass transit of Dubai [My City My Metro] to implement RTA's vision of "Safe and Smooth Transport for all".

He pointed to a simple technical default representing that of the gates had not opened for a very short time and was soon fixed by the Control Operations Centre.

"It was sorted out only in five minutes."

Parham said that there are some guidelines that have to be followed by the Metro and stations users for the safety of everyone including the compliance with the safety rules. In addition, the riders should also listen to the instructions provided by the stations staff at peak hours to avoid the human congestions on embarkation and disembarkation of passengers or when changing the service hours and making sure to recharge the cards in case of varied trips.

"Along with these guidelines, there are some tips for users of the metro that include planning the journey in advance, connecting and integrating trips with other public transport modes," said Parham.