Sharjah: The emirate's busy Al Wahda Street is now closed to motorists for two years for the second phase of roadwork projects in the emirate.
The Public Works Department (PWD) in Sharjah along with Sharjah Police have laid out diversions and installed traffic signals to help commuters living in the affected area.
A senior official from the PWD said the street will be closed from the Yarmook area to the junction (crossroads) of King Faisal Street. For Sharjah-Dubai and Dubai-Sharjah commuters three alternative routes have been put in place.
"Motorists and residents need not be distressed by the closure of Al Wahda Street as we have opened diversions, supported by the proper traffic management. We want road users to be cooperative and follow the traffic signals that are being installed to make their lives easier," the official source said.
Maps on the alternative routes and diversions are being published in local papers. However, residents have aired their despair on the anticipated congestion.
"Normally it takes me more than an hour to reach my home in Buteena from Dubai but now with the road blocked I don't even want to think about the number of hours I will be forced to spend on the road," said Ravikumar, a resident.
Parents said the closure would also mean children coming home late as school buses will have to take detours.
"It's going to be a nightmare for schoolchildren, these alternative roads are never easy to drive on," said Asma Mohammad a resident of King Faisal Street in Sharjah.
Motorists said they did not mind leaving early while going to work from Sharjah to Dubai but what really bothered them was the return journey.
"The amount of congestion we are going to have coming back from work on Al Ittihad Road in the evening is going to be horrendous," said Hussain Malek.
