Balloons fill morning Dubai sky; SZR roadworks stall traffic

Post-holiday traffic hit major junctions across Dubai on Sunday morning, with people reporting congestion and accidents on Sheikh Zayed Road and E66.

Several residents also took to social media to comment on the ongoing Dubai International Balloon Fiesta that set off hundreds of balloons this morning from Global Village.

At 9.15am, heavy traffic was reported from Nad Al Sheba to Hadiqa Street.

S Sridhar told Emirates 24|7: “The Dubai Canal roadworks near interchange two is adding to the morning rush hour traffic, with right to connect on to Sheikh Zayed A tailback of cars that extend all the way to the Nad Al Sheba-Meydan Road junction.”

Anthony tweeted: “I’ve been queuing for an hour now on Al Meydan Street trying to get onto Sheikh Zayed Road. Too many lanes merging and everyone pushing in.”

An hour earlier, the Nad Al Sheba-E66 junction, headed towards Dubai, was the scene of a major accident, with eyewitness claiming the tailbacks of that incident have just started to clear.

Meanwhile, heavy traffic congestion is reported on D63 Umm Sequim Road after the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road Intersection, towards Sheikh Zayed Road and Jumeirah.

Onlookers state due to this Hessa Street is also gridlocked since 8am.

Jasmine tweeted: “Loving the balloons floating around Dubai but not so much the traffic caused by on lookers.”

Further down the highway, Sharjah commuters are facing gridlock since 8am themselves, heading towards Dubai, with a crash on E611-Emirates Road before Maliha Road intersection causing tailbacks.