Work on the Dh2.1-billion ($571 million) Abu Dhabi-Dubai Highway project is more than 60 per cent completed, said a report, citing senior officials of Abu Dhabi General Services (Musanada).

The 62-km highway project, which is being developed in collaboration with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport (DoT), is set for completion in the fourth quarter of 2017, reported the Gulf News.

The eight-lane expressway is an extension of Mohammad Bin Zayed Road, which currently ends in the Seih Shuaib area at the Dubai-Abu Dhabi border.

Set to be ready by the end of next year, the road will help motorists heading to Sharjah and the Northern Emirates avoid traffic on Shaikh Zayed Road and other roads in Dubai. It will help divert the bulk of the traffic from Shaikh Zayed Road, which is currently the only major road link between Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Northern Emirates. Passing through Al Maha Forest, Kizad, Al Ajban Road, Zayed Military City to Sweihan Road, the new highway includes six bridges and six underground passes.

The project, which has a capacity of up to 7,000 vehicles per hour, aims to reduce congestion and accidents on the current E11 Abu Dhabi-Dubai Road, it added.