The road from Al Taawun Street to Al Nahda Bridge is lined with cars every morning, at around 7am. It moves slowly. It may hardly move at all at times. For people living in Sharjah who travel to Dubai for work, this is not a commute. It’s a day to day expense of their time.
A family can save AED 50,000 annually on rent, if they move to Sharjah instead of Dubai. In return, they sacrifice an hour of their day, almost everyday for years. However, this balance is up for renegotiation.
Sharjah Dubai Tunnel: The Scale
The AED 750 million worth road development project aimed at connecting Sharjah and Dubai has begun. It will open in November 2026. Mubadara and Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority (SRTA) are implementing the project. The Sharjah Department of Town Planning (DTP), Sharjah Police, Sharjah City Municipality, Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority (SEWG) as well as e& and du are cooperating.
The Sharjah Dubai tunnel is a 500m long tunnel under the Al Taawun Roundabout, which has three lanes each side between Al Taawun Street and Al Nahda Bridge and Dubai. The tunnel will be supported by a new signalised crossing able to take about 4,200 vehicles an hour in each direction during peak times.
This is one of five interconnected projects running in parallel. They include a major upgrade at Al Khulafa Al Rashideen intersection and two new 130-metre bridges over Industrial Streets 1 and 2. Also, a new free-flow entry from Al Ittihad Road to Al Khan Street, and Al Noor Road. This will be a new corridor extending from Al Orooba Street directly into Dubai via Al Nahda Bridge. All due to open by end of 2026.
The Monument Nobody Wanted to Lose
His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi announced the project during an interview on the Direct Line radio programme on Sharjah TV. The first thing he addressed was not the engineering. It was a monument. The Al Taawun Roundabout Monument, a landmark many long-term Sharjah residents grew up driving past, has already been removed to make way for construction.
Engineers found that the monument’s foundations extended deep underground. Also it would interfere with the Sharjah Dubai tunnel alignment. Specialists subsequently designed the road layout so that the monument can be reinstalled precisely in its original location once the tunnel is complete. Sheikh Sultan said: “The Al Taawun Roundabout holds many cherished memories. However, the requirements of development make this project necessary to improve traffic flow and enhance mobility.”
What Life Looks Like Right Now
Construction is already underway. The SRTA began a temporary partial closure of Al Taawun Street on June 13, 2026. Dubai-bound vehicles must now reroute via Al Corniche Street.
Commuters are advised to add at least 20 minutes of extra travel time during morning rush hours. It is uncomfortable in the short term, and deliberately so. The disruption is the cost of building something that removes the need for the disruption permanently.
What Sharjah Dubai Tunnel Does to Property Prices?
Here is where the story gets interesting for anyone thinking about where to live or invest. Sharjah has been a long-time lure for those priced out of Dubai, with much lower rents and purchase prices for similar types of flat. The one major sticking point that has kept some residents away from Sharjah has always been the commute. Remove the pain of the commute, or lessen it significantly, and that friction goes away.
Six main entrances to Dubai will be supported by the Sharjah Dubai tunnel which will create a direct transport corridor linking older residential areas such as Al Taawun and the Lakes district with Sharjah’s developing neighbourhoods along Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road. The change in perception will most directly benefit the areas along this upgraded corridor, particularly Al Taawun, Al Nahda Sharjah, Al Majaz and Al Khan.
With commute times getting shorter, the rent premium Dubai commands over Sharjah starts to feel less justified to a growing share of residents. That repricing doesn’t happen overnight, but announcements of that scale of infrastructure invariably bring forward buyer interest long before the first car drives through the tunnel.
What Residents Actually Gain
The real benefits vary well beyond the commute itself. The Sharjah Dubai tunnel will provide direct links from the roundabout to Emirates Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, allowing for routes that currently require multiple turns and signal stops.
Directional signs will ensure seamless access to Expo Centre Sharjah’s parking facilities, improving access to the emirate’s largest venue. Al Nahda, Al Mamzar and the areas around them on both sides of the Sharjah-Dubai border will have a quicker, more direct access to each other’s commercial and residential areas.
For anyone who has ever been in that 7am queue on Al Taawun Road wondering if the rent savings are worth it, November 2026 is when they get their clearest answer yet.
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