A drive that once took 15 minutes along one of Dubai’s busiest east-west connectors now takes four, following the Roads and Transport Authority’s formal opening of the completed Hessa Street Development Project on Sunday.
The upgraded stretch runs 4.5 kilometres between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road, with all four intersections along the corridor now fully developed. Lanes in each direction have been expanded from two to four throughout the section, pushing the street’s throughput from 8,000 vehicles per hour to 16,000 — a 100% capacity increase.
RTA Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors Mattar Al Tayer, who conducted a pre-opening inspection of the project, said the development responds directly to the emirate’s sustained expansion and the growing demands placed on its infrastructure network. He identified Hessa Street as one of Dubai’s most strategically significant road corridors, linking communities including Al Sufouh 2, Al Barsha, and Jumeirah Village Circle — areas where the combined population is projected to exceed 640,000 residents by 2030.
“Hessa Street Development Project extends from its intersection with Sheikh Zayed Road to its intersection with Al Khail Road over a stretch of 4.5 km,” Al Tayer said. “The project includes upgrading 4 key intersections along Hessa Street with Sheikh Zayed Road, First Al Khail Street, Al Asayel Street, and Al Khail Road, and expanding Hessa Street from 2 lanes to 4 lanes in each direction. This will increase the street’s capacity by 100%, raising it to 16,000 vehicles per hour in both directions.”
Each of the four intersections received distinct infrastructure treatment. At the junction with Sheikh Zayed Road, a two-lane directional ramp was built above the Dubai Metro Red Line to handle right-turning traffic heading eastbound onto Hessa Street. At First Al Khail Street, the existing bridge was widened from three to four lanes per direction, alongside signal upgrades at ground level. The Al Asayel Street crossing gained an entirely new parallel bridge, raising capacity from two lanes to four in each direction. At Al Khail Road, a direct two-lane ramp now serves northbound traffic toward Sharjah, with additional bridges handling vehicles headed toward Deira.
Construction has separately begun on Phase 2, covering a 3-kilometre section from Al Khail Road to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road. That phase involves three intersections, 8,835 metres of new bridges, and a 480-metre tunnel. It is expected to cut travel time on that stretch from 24 minutes to five, double capacity from 4,000 to 8,000 vehicles per hour, and serve around 650,000 people across ten residential and development areas. Daily traffic volumes on roads within the phase are currently estimated at approximately half a million trips.
