Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded an AED611 million ($166.4m) contract for building an interchange to ease traffic congestion in the bustling locality of Karama.

The Sheikh Rashid Rd – Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Rd Interchange is to be ready by the end of next year, the authority said. The announcement comes as the Wafi Interchange project in the area nears completion.

The new interchange is part of a wider project to upgrade the Al Shindagha roads network, said Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the RTA.

The project is situated at the intersection between Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road and Sheikh Rashid Rd north-bound towards Al Shindagha. It encompasses the construction of a bridge on the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road and a tunnel on the Sheikh Rashid Road, as well as a bridge stretching from Umm Hurair Road in the direction of Sheikh Rashid Road.

The project will result in smooth traffic movement from the Trade Centre R/A to the intersection of Khalifa bin Zayed Road with Al Kuwait Road where a two-lane bridge will be constructed in each direction.

Moreover, the project includes the construction of a tunnel on the Sheikh Rashid Road in the direction of the Sheikh Rashid Rd – Al Mankhool Rd intersection, comprising four lanes in each direction. It will also involve the construction of a signalized junction underneath the bridge, while ensuring free traffic movement through a one-lane flyover stretching from Umm Harir Road to Sheikh Rashid Road.

Works also include lighting, pavements, irrigation conduits, sewage system, and rainwater drainage system in addition to shifting and protecting utility lines such as electricity, water and telecommunications.

“The RTA has set out a comprehensive plan for smooth traffic flow at traffic diversions,” Al Tayer said. “The same number of lanes will be maintained in the diversion to avoid any negative impacts on the normal traffic flow, additional snarls or delays due construction works.”

By the end of next month, the RTA will also open the upgraded Wafi Interchange project, a key interchange in Dubai that links with the Sheikh Rashid Road and Oud Metha Road.

This project encompasses the construction of a three-lane bridge from Oud Metha Road (nearby Latifa Hospital) in the direction of Sheikh Rashid Road and from there to the Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Saada Road.