Dubai: New Salik Toll Gates Announced with Operational Date
Salik PJSC has declared on Friday that two new toll gates—the Business Bay Gate and Al Safa South Gate would open in Dubai and would start running on Sunday, November 24.
The new gates situated between Al Meydan Street and Umm Al Sheif Street follow two main paths: Al Safa South on Sheikh Zayed Road and the Business Bay Crossing on Al Khail Road. This installation brings the Salik toll gate count in Dubai from eight to ten, therefore improving flow and helping to reduce traffic congestion.
Improving Traffic Flow
Located on one of Dubai's main thoroughfares, Business Bay Crossing has heavy traffic, particularly from drivers heading from Sharjah, Al Nahda, and Al Qusais. Usually, these cars link to Al Khail Road using the bridge. Authorities hope the new Business Bay gate would help to significantly ease traffic congestion in these locations. Ibrahim Al Haddad, Salik's CEO, underlined that the new toll gates might reduce traffic by as much as 16 percent generally. Especially, the Business Bay Crossing gate seeks to ease traffic on Al Rabat Street by 10 to 16 percent and cut traffic on Al Khail Road by 12 to 15 percent.
Traffic regulation also depends much on the Al Safa South gate. It is expected to improve traffic flow between Financial Center Road and Meydan Street and cut the right-turn traffic volume from Sheikh Zayed Road to Meydan Street by 15 percent. Apart from that, the gate is supposed to assist in guiding cars to other wide paths such as Al Asayel Street and First Al Khail Street, thereby facilitating better road traffic.
Environmental sustainability
Al Haddad claims that the Al Safa South gate is meant to be an expansion of the current Al Safa North gate therefore allowing a flawless toll experience. Drivers passing through both the northern and southern Safa gates inside an hour will only be charged once. For drivers often crossing Sheikh Zayed Road, this arrangement offers a more effective tolling system.
With these toll gates, Salik is also implementing environmentally friendly projects since, the first time in Salik, both will run virtually exclusively on solar power. This supports Salik's dedication to progress green energy and fits Dubai's sustainability objectives.
Fixed Toll Rates
A story concerning dynamic pricing—where toll costs would vary depending on peak and off-peak hours—went around social media last month. This false information made homeowners worried since it claimed that toll prices might vary from nothing to as high as Dh8. Salik swiftly denied the allegation, explaining that all Salik gates in Dubai still have the present fixed toll rate of Dh4 each passing. Al Haddad underlined that any change to the toll system or pricing would need Executive Council of Dubai's permission as well as Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority's (RTA'). Salik has no intentions to change its fixed-rate tolling system right now.
Salik helps millions of trips every year since it is a basic component of Dubai's transportation system. Salik gates recorded around 593 million visits last year alone. From January to June, the toll system processed around 238.5 million visits across the eight gates, bringing Dh1.1 billion in income—a 5.6 percent increase from the same period previous year.
Toll Gates Expansion
Although Salik's CEO has announced the two additional gates will be added this month, there is no set plan for additional toll gate construction right now. Al Haddad pointed out that the results of technical and traffic studies, which seek to improve Dubai's road network's efficiency, would determine any future developments of the toll system. Should the assessments of the RTA show a need for more gates to enhance traffic flow, such ideas would need approval from the Dubai Executive Council prior to execution.
These new toll gates are a calculated step toward improved traffic control that will help Dubai's environmental goals as well as ease commutes. The latest improvements to Salik's toll system show a balanced approach to updating road infrastructure, lowering congestion, and matching with environmental practices.