In Dubai, E 11 is known as “Sheikh Zayed Road” (in Arabic: شارع الشيخ زايد). The highway runs parallel to the coastline from Trade Centre Roundabout to the border with the emirate of Abu Dhabi, 55 kilometres (34 mi) away in the area of Jebel Ali.^[1]

The road was formerly known as Defence Road.^[1] Between 1993 and 1998, 30 kilometres (19 mi) of the road was expanded.^[1] Along with this improvement came a change in the name. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai at the time, named the road after the then president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.^[2]

The Sheikh Zayed Road is home to most of Dubai’s skyscrapers, including the Emirates Towers and the Burj Dubai. The highway also connects other new developments such as the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina and Dubai Waterfront. The road will soon have most of the Red Line of Dubai Metro running alongside it.

Sheikh Zayed Road runs parallel with the coast and is the modern business district of Dubai. Sheikh Zayed Road is an eight-lane highway with many modern buildings lining both sides.

The buildings along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai vary in architectural design but consist mainly of towers built of glass, chrome and steel.

The main attraction of Sheikh Zayed Road is the section between the roundabout and the first intersection. This section features striking views of high-rise hotels, apartments and offices. For the longest time the Dubai World Trade Center was the tallest building in Dubai and a major landmark but since the 1990s, taller and grander buildings overshadow it.

Buildings along Sheikh Zayed Road

Listed in order from Trade Centre Roundabout towards Jebel Ali to Interchange 2

Interchanges

Sheikh Zayed Road has several interchanges to enable traffic to go on and off the highway. These interchanges commonly lead to roundabouts (rotaries) to enable traffic to exit or to go to the other side of the highway. As of 2007, the interchanges are:

• World Trade Centre Roundabout: Towards Union House, BurJuman, Zabeel Park
• Interchange 1 (also known as Defence Roundabout): Doha Street interchange towards Downtown Dubai
• Interchange 2: Towards Safa Park
• Interchange 3: Towards Al Quoz
• Interchange 4: Towards Mall of the Emirates, Gold & Diamond Park, Madinat Jumeirah, Burj Al Arab, Wild Wadi Water Park, Jumeirah Beach Hotel
• Interchange 5: Towards Dubai Marina, Emirates Hills, Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City