With the grand Dubai Tour starting this week, expect to see some changes around your usual routes in Dubai. The tour runs over 5 days from the 6th to the 10th February and starts each day at 11:10 am and ends at 3:30 pm, so maybe you’ll want to skip the stop for a coffee on the way to work!
The Roads and Transport Authority has announced that some key roads will be closed, these include Al Wasl, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, and various others. But don’t worry because RTA in conjunction with Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Police, and UAE Cycling Federation are organising traffic to ensure that you know the streets that’ll be blocked and how to find your way around.
Also, it’s helpful to know that the chief executive officer of Traffic and Roads Agency, Eng Maitha Bin Adai said to only expect a short delay on routes as the cyclists will pass, following which the traffic will return to normal.
To give you an overview here’s where you’ll be seeing most of the changes. There will be five stages to the event in which cyclists will be cutting through some traffic:
Stage 1: begins on 6 February and covers 167 km. It will begin at Skydive Dubai and end at Palm Jumeriah passing through Umm Suqeim Street, Al Khail Road, Motor City, Al Qudra Road, Emirates Road, Jebel Ali-Lehbab Road, and Mohammed bin Zayed Road.
Stage 2: begins on 7 February and covers 190 km. It will also begin at Skydive Dubai and cut through Umm Suqeim Street, Al Khail Road, Dubai Design District, Ral Al Khor Street, Al Aweer Road, Emirates Road and then Sharjah.
Stage 3: begins on 8 February and covers 190 km. It will start at Skydive Dubai through Umm Suqeim Street, Al Khail Road, Ral Al Khor Street, Dubai-Al Ain Road, Academic City Street, Al Aweer Road and then Hatta-Oman.
Stage 4: begins on 9 February and cover 172 km. It will pass through Al Khail Road, Ral Al Khor Street, Al Aweer Road and then onto Sharjah.
Stage 5: The final day will be 10 February and will have the tour continuing to Damascus Street, Al Maktoum Bridge, Al Seef Street, Jumeriah Street, Al Wasl, and then back to the finishing point at City Walk.
The image below also shows all the streets that RTA will be managing traffic flow:
