DUBAI’S Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a further Dh78 million ($21.23 million) contract for improvement of roads parallel to the Shaikh Zayed Road project.

This is part of Phase Three of the Parallel Roads project at Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) and Jumeirah Village stretching from Sheikh Zayed Road in the north to the outskirts of Abu Dhabi emirate in the south. “The Parallel Roads Project ranks amongst the biggest projects currently undertaken by the RTA and is capable of improving and streamlining the traffic flow in the eastern traffic corridor parallel to Sheikh Zayed Road,” said Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the board of directors of RTA and executive director of the authority.

Contracts worth a total of Dh528 million ($143 million) have been awarded to date for Phase Three work.

The scope of work under the latest contract includes linking the bridges and tunnels completed under Phase Three of the improvement of the Parallel Roads Project with the Sheikh Zayed Road and the Mohammed bin Zayed Road.

“In the new project, priority has been given to constructing the part linking the current phase with the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, which is expected to be completed by mid-2014,” said Al Tayer.