Reopening of schools, along with the ongoing construction on key routes, like Al Khail Road, Al Mamzar Road and Emirates Road, has intensified the traffic situation between Dubai and Sharjah.
The usual morning rush hour traffic has worsened with commuters struggling to navigate the higher volume of vehicles. The influx of families returning to the emirate and the increased number of school buses have also added to the traffic woes.
Many commuters are now spending hours on roads with the congestion starting as early as 6am. “I leave one-and-a-half hours early from Sharjah to Dubai. There was not much traffic during summer break, but it has increased dramatically this week. Just to enter Dubai from Sharjah’s main arteries takes nearly one-and-a-half hours,” said Waqas Saghar, who works in a delivery company.
“Whichever road we take – Al Ittihad Road, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Road, or Beirut Street – there are long queues of vehicles. It is quite a challenge to reach SMBZ Road due to congestion at exits and long waiting times at traffic signals on Beirut Street. Al Ittihad Road’s morning traffic jam towards Dubai used to start after Safeer Mall during summer. But now it stretches back to Sharjah City Centre sometimes. Therefore, now it takes me one-and-a-half hours to reach Dubai,” said Sagar, adding that “If I take Salik road, it will take an hour to reach Dubai, but if I take non-Salik road, I have to spend another 30 minutes in traffic.”
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Anum Noor, who regularly commutes between Sharjah and Dubai, has also started to leave around 40-45 minutes early to reach her office on time.
“Yes, traffic has dramatically increased from this week as schools have resumed. Everyone is worried about the increase in traffic volume these days. But it is mainly the Sharjah-Dubai traffic which is the talk of the town. Even in the evenings, it is taking us longer to return to Sharjah,” said Noor.
The situation has prompted many residents to explore alternative routes or even consider carpooling. However, the daily commute remains a challenge for thousands of people travelling between Dubai and Sharjah.
Mohammed AbuNael, a marketing executive at a gifting firm, said he has been trying different routes and even considered carpooling with neighbours. “But it feels like there are no easy solutions. Every road is congested, and no matter what I try, the commute between Dubai and Sharjah remains a daily struggle while going to the office and even worse during return,” he said.
“All we can do is hope that the traffic eases as the school year progresses, but right now, it looks difficult because of construction on Al Khail Road, Al Mamzar, and Emirates Road.”
Amr Abdel Salam, a kitchen appliances store owner in Abu Hail and a resident of Sharjah’s Al Tawoon, said that during the summer vacation, he would leave home at 8:00 am. and reach office by 8.30am. “But now, with schools reopening, I leave much earlier because I have to drop my children at Al Ittihad School in Al Mamzar. What used to be just a half-hour drive now requires me to leave home two hours earlier, by 6am, so as to ensure they get to school on time,” said Salam.
“On my way back home for lunch around 2pm, I pick up my children from school, and it takes over an hour due to the school traffic. The distance from my home to school and then to office is just 15 minutes when the roads are clear. But now it is taking me more than 45 minutes now. The roads are congested even when even when I am returning to office after lunch at home, or returning home from office after 9pm, taking me at least 50 minutes,” said Salam.