A four-leaf clover connects Dubai

With around 4 million inhabitants, primarily immigrants, traffic in Dubai is—as one might imagine—far from scarce. On average, it takes 20% longer to travel around than it would in regular traffic, which translates into 46 hours stuck in a car per year.

The environment is also uncomfortable, with a subtropical desert climate where summers are long and torrid with unbearable mugginess. Alternatives to the private car are practically non-existent, and the most popular vehicles are jeeps and pick-ups with high CO₂ emissions. Upgrading the road infrastructure is essential to improve Dubai's liveability and productivity.

Thus, the new Dubai Ras al Khor motorway crossing has arrived in the heart of the city directly connect the Al Safa Road residential area to Financial Center Road. It can handle 16,000 vehicles per hour, taking the pressure off one of the city's most congested areas.

The project - built between 2016 and 2013 - enhances a system of interconnected motorways that cross the city from south to north and connect the Emirate to neighbouring cities and countries, ports and airports.

With its lucky cloverleaf shape, the interchange (inbound and outbound) replaces Crossing 1 at the intersection of Sheikh Zayed Road and Doha Street, and is more in keeping with the high standards of the UAE's roads. The roads here are designed with up to six lanes —and even eight in some sections and are seventh in the world in terms of modernity and efficiency (2019 Global Competitiveness Report ranking).