2 new Salik toll gates open in Dubai this November

At Business Bay Crossing and Al Safa South

Two new Salik toll gates will be activated at the Business Bay Crossing and Al Safa South on November 24, 2024, bringing the total number of toll gates in the Arabian Gulf city to ten.

For trips between the North and South Al Safa toll gates within an hour, each toll gate will incur a one-time fee of AED4.

The Business Bay Crossing toll gate is expected to significantly improve traffic flow by diverting vehicles from Jebel Ali toward Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road, free of toll gates.

This initiative aims to reduce congestion on Al Khail Road by up to 15%, with projections suggesting a decrease of around 2,053 vehicles per hour. It will also lessen traffic on Al Rebat Street by approximately 16%, cutting total travel time on this heavily congested corridor by around 20,000 hours daily in both directions.

Similarly, the Al Safa South toll gate will target traffic entering from Sheikh Zayed Road to Al Meydan Street, reducing right-turn traffic by about 15%. It is anticipated to decrease the number of vehicles from Al Meydan and Al Safa Streets to Sheikh Zayed Road by 42%, thereby optimising traffic on the main thoroughfare between Financial Centre Street and Latifa bint Hamdan Street by around 4%.

According to Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), introducing the two additional toll gates aligns with Dubai’s transport policies to reduce reliance on private vehicles and promote public transport usage.

By redistributing traffic to alternative routes such as Dubai-Al Ain Road and Ras Al Khor Street, Dubai’s RTA hopes to create a more efficient and less congested urban environment. The overall aim is to improve traffic flow and decrease the time spent on the roads, with existing toll systems already contributing to a reduction in total travel time by an estimated six million hours annually.

According to Dubai’s RTA, global consultants have endorsed the installation of the two new toll gates.

In July 2007, Dubai’s RTA launched Salik as a fully electronic toll gate system. Until November 23, 2024, this system consisted of eight gates strategically located throughout the city. The eight toll gate locations are Al Barsha, Al Garhoud, Al Maktoum International Airport, Al Mamzar (both South and North), Al Safa, Airport Tunnel, and Jebel Ali.

In 2022, Salik was established as a public joint stock company, with Dubai’s RTA retaining specific responsibilities for managing the toll system. The Salik platform registered a very healthy financial performance in H1 2024, registering 238.5 million revenue-generating trips, which increased by 4.9% YoY and recorded a total revenue of AED1.1 billion.

Featured image: As of November 24, 2024, Dubai has ten Salik toll gates. Credit: Salik

Last Updated on 1 month by Arnold Pinto