Salaam Street, Tunnel renamed

From 6am today, Abu Dhabi’s first urban express highway will be open to the public. The final 2.4km leg of the tunnel completed the construction of the underground passage, which took five years and a colossal Dh4.8billion, to build.

The whole tunnel is 3.6km, the longest in the Middle East.

On the instructions of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and close follow up of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the Al Salam Street and Tunnel was renamed Shaikh Zayed Street and Shaikh Zayed Tunnel in memory of the country’s founding father.

Shaikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor and Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, announced this while inaugurating the tunnel on Tuesday as part of the UAE’s 41^st National Day celebrations. The strategic development carries the name of the founding father to underscore “our pride in what he had achieved and in tribute to his far-sighted vision, which we are today reaping its fruit in the form of progress in all walks of our life”, he said. Shaikh Zayed Street is the most strategic artery, improving vehicular flow in the Capital.

Tunnel and its features

The tunnel connects Zayed Bridge – the latest and fourth gateway into the main island of Abu Dhabi – allowing motorists to travel to Mina Port and Corniche area.

“The reason it took so long is because the project is in the heart of the city, with heavy traffic around, and the tunnel construction is very complex,” said Abdulla Saeed Al Shamsi, Acting Executive Director of Infrastructure and Municipal Assets at Abu Dhabi Municipality.

Shaikh Zayed Tunnel inaugurated in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. — KT photo by Shoaib Anwer

Back in October 2007, when the project began, there were 6,000 vehicles per hour travelling through the area, but this has now increased to 12,000, so the tunnel should dramatically ease congestion.

With no traffic signal lights inside the tunnel, the uninterrupted journey from Zayed Bridge to Mina Port or the Corniche will take around 20 minutes, with the same journey above ground taking double that time.

The capacity allows for up to 8,000 vehicles in each direction. The tunnel is split into two decks for vehicles travelling into and away from the city, each one starting with four lanes at the Zayed Bridge end and narrowing down to three lanes near the Mina Port area and two lanes at the Corniche exit.

The speed limit is 100km/hour for approximately half of the tunnel journey, and is cut down to 80km/hour when edging closer to the city centre. Speed will be controlled by cameras with limits being visibly sign-posted on boards above the driving lanes. Environmental concerns were also taken into consideration when building the tunnel.

“We use smart lighting system, which is not only eco-friendly, but reduces the operational and maintenance costs by approximately 45 percent,” mentioned Al Shamsi.

Ventilation is provided throughout the tunnel to maintain the quality of air. In case of emergencies, there are 22 escape doors and stairs, as well as 22 sliding doors for cars that can be operated manually by the traffic Police or Civil Defense. Next to each of these exits are telephones, coloured bright yellow for easy identification, that connects callers to the two control rooms inside the tunnel.

Two detection systems are also in place. One, using cameras, can spot up to 10 incidents, such as a stopped car or a reversing vehicle. Once an incident is identified, an alarm will ring in the control room, allowing officials to take the appropriate action. The second detection system is based on fibre optics which can ‘sense’ heat. If the temperature in the tunnel reaches 60 degrees celsius, an alarm rings in the control room, again, allowing those inside to take necessary action. If it temperature reaches 80 degrees, the fire department will be automatically alerted, with water sprinklers being set off as well as emergency doors being opened.

Being an underground highway, only motorised vehicles of maximum six metres in height are allowed inside the tunnel.

“Forbidden to go inside the tunnel are pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles transporting gas cylinders or dangerous materials,” said Majid Al Khatery, Head of Traffic Service at the Abu Dhabi Municipality and Operation Team Manager of Shaikh Zayed Tunnel.

Stopping a vehicle inside the tunnel is also forbidden and, according to Al Khatery, if anyone does so, security will be able to reach the vehicle within 20 to 30 seconds.

(With inputs from Wam)

silvia@khaleejtimes.com

Tunnel facts

Connects: Zayed Bridge to Mina Port or Corniche

Speed limit: 100km/h and 80km/h near city

Signals: Nil

Safety features

Ventilation throughout

22 escape doors and stairs

22 (manual) sliding doors for cars

Two detection systems

1) Cameras to spot up to 10 incidents such as a stopped or reversing car

2) Fibre optics that can ‘sense’ heat

Vehicle specification

Only motorised vehicles of maximum 6m in height are allowed

Banned

Pedestrians and cyclists

Vehicles transporting gas cylinders or dangerous materials