| E 11 | |
|---|---|
| إ ١١ | |
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E 11 becomes Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, withDubai Metro visible | |
| Route information | |
| Part of | |
| Length | 558.4 km (347.0 mi) |
| Existed | 1980–present |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | Ghuwaifat Border Crossing |
| Major intersections |
|
| East end | Al Dara Border Crossing |
| Location | |
| Country | United Arab Emirates |
| Major cities | Dubai,Sharjah,Ajman,Umm al-Quwain,Ras al Khaimah,Abu Dhabi |
| Highway system | |
E 11 (Arabic:شارع ﺇ ١١) is a highway in theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE). The longest road in the Emirates, it stretches from the Al Batha border crossing at theSaudi Arabia–UAE border inal-Silah in theal-Dhafra region of theEmirate of Abu Dhabi and ends at theOman–UAE border crossing ofal-Darah inal-Jeer,Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, running roughly parallel to UAE's coastline along thePersian Gulf. The road forms the main artery in some emirates' main cities, where it assumes various alternate names —Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Road andSheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road[1] inAbu Dhabi,Sheikh Zayed Road inDubai,Al Ittihad Road inSharjah andAjman, andSheikh Muhammad bin Salem Road inRas Al Khaimah. E 11 used to have the highest posted speed limit on Earth at 160 km/h, but was reduced to 140 km/h on April 14, 2025.[2]
TheDubai-Abu Dhabi Highway of E 11 links the two largest cities of the United Arab Emirates,Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The project was first proposed in 1968 by the Sheikhs of Abu Dhabi and Dubai toSheikh Zayed. In 1971, the project was approved and construction began. The highway was completed in 1980.[3] The highway starts near Al Maqta' Bridge in Abu Dhabi and becomes Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai.
In Dubai, E 11 is known as "Sheikh Zayed Road" (Arabic: شارع الشيخ زايد). This road is the main artery of the city. The highway runs parallel to the coastline from the Trade Centre Roundabout to the border with theemirate of Abu Dhabi, 55 kilometres (34 mi) away in the area ofJebel Ali.[4]

The road was formerly known asDefence Road.[4] Between 1993 and 1998, 30 kilometres (19 mi) of the road was expanded.[4] 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.[5]
The E11 is designated as such because "E" stands for Emirates, and the number system was adopted in 1995 to represent nationally and internationally significant high-speed roads within the UAE. The E Route system defines these roads as having limited or controlled access and a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour or higher. The E11 is part of this system, categorized as a primary road, with its numbering indicating a north-south orientation as per the guidelines detailed in theAbu Dhabi Department of Transport's document TR-538 from 2018.[6]
The Sheikh Zayed Road is home to most of Dubai's skyscrapers, including theEmirates Towers. The highway also connects other new developments such as thePalm Jumeirah andDubai Marina. The road has most of theRed Line ofDubai Metro running alongside it.[7] In Dubai itself much of the highway has seven to eight lanes in each direction.
In 2014, theDubai Water Canal began construction; as part of the project, a section of the road was removed and a bridge was constructed.[8]
On 12 March 2008, approximately 200 vehicles smashed into each other before going up in flames.[9][10] According to the Abu Dhabi Police, 3 people were killed and 277 injured, 15 of them critically. Thickfog and poor visibility contributed to the deadly pileup. The event is considered to be one of the worsttraffic collisions in the UAE's history.
In the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, exits are numbered based on distance starting from east to west within the emirate.
| Emirate | Location | km | mi | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi | Ghuwaifat | 0 | 0.0 | - | Ghuwaifat Border Crossing | |
| Al Sila'a | 19.14 | 11.89 | 19 | Al Sila'a | ||
| Al Wahidah | 29.82 | 18.53 | 30 | Al Wahidah | ||
| Mahmiyat Al Soqour | 53.60 | 33.31 | 53 | Mahmiyat Al Soqour | ||
| Barakah | 67.85 | 42.16 | 66 | Barakah | ||
| Umm al Oshtan | 96.71 | 60.09 | 95 | Umm al Oshtan | ||
| Jebel Al Dannah | 115.18 | 71.57 | 113 | Jebel Al Dannah | ||
| Al Ruwais, UAE | 128.77 | 80.01 | 127 | |||
| 143.72 | 89.30 | - | Al Rubban Street | |||
| 157.92 | 98.13 | 158 | Baynounah, Thumayriyah | |||
| Gerain Al Ash | 176.50 | 109.67 | 176 | Gerain Al Ash | ||
| Al Harmia | 189.32 | 117.64 | 189 | Al Harmia | ||
| Al Mirfa | 202.28 | 125.69 | 202A | Al Mirfa (South),Habshan,Madinat Zayed | ||
| 203.26 | 126.30 | 202B | Al Mirfa | |||
| 213.83 | 132.87 | 214 | Al Mirfa (East) | |||
| Tarif | 231.69 | 143.97 | 231 | Tarif | ||
| 243.96 | 151.59 | 244 | ||||
| Al Khidayrah | 251.21 | 156.09 | 251 | Abu Al Abyad | ||
| 260.61 | 161.94 | 261 | Ghuwaifat | |||
| 270.65 | 168.17 | 271 | Ghuwaifat | |||
| Al Noof | 284.51 | 176.79 | 285 | Al Rumaitha, Al Noof | ||
| Al Aryam | 297.55 | 184.89 | 297 | Al Aryam | ||
| Al Shinayin | 305.46 | 189.80 | 305 | |||
| Al Aryam | 297.55 | 184.89 | 297 | Al Aryam | ||
| Abu Dhabi Industrial City (ICAD) | 312.10 | 193.93 | 312A | ICAD | ||
| 313.04 | 194.51 | 312B | ICAD | |||
| 319.41 | 198.47 | 318 | ICAD | |||
| Jarn Yafour | 321.88 | 200.01 | 322A | |||
| 322.54 | 200.42 | 322B | Mussafah, Mohammed bin Zayed City,Abu Dhabi | |||
| Al Mafraq | 327.33 | 203.39 | 328A | |||
| 327.90 | 203.75 | 322B | ||||
| 320.32 | 199.04 | 320 | Mafraq Sheikh Shakbout Medical City, Bani Yas | |||
| Al Shawamekh | 332.56 | 206.64 | 333 | Shakbout City, Al Shawamekh | ||
| Al Shamkha | 336.13 | 208.86 | 336 | Shakbout City, Al Shamkha | ||
| 340.61 | 211.65 | 343A | ||||
| 341.71 | 212.33 | 343B | ||||
| Al Falah | 344.0 | 213.8 | 343C | Airport support facilities | ||
| 346.50 | 215.31 | 348 | Rawdat Al Reef Palace, Al Falah, Al Reef To | |||
| Rawdat Al Reef | 355.06 | 220.62 | 357 | Zayed Military City End of | ||
| Abu Mreikhah | 358.46 | 222.74 | 359 | Al Shahama, Zayed Military City | ||
| 365.43 | 227.07 | 366 | Al Rahba City | |||
| Muwaylih | 369.83 | 229.80 | 371 | Al Rahba, Al Taweelah,Khalifa Port - Kizad | ||
| Al Samha | 374.59 | 232.76 | 374A | Al Samha | ||
| Khalifa Industrial Zone | 375.60 | 233.39 | 374B | Kizad B | ||
| 376.21 | 233.77 | 374C | Kizad A,Khalifa Port | |||
| 381.03 | 236.76 | 381 | Al Semeh, Abu Dhabi Sports Aviation Club | |||
| Al Layyan | 389.98 | 242.32 | 390 | |||
| Ghantout | 398.37 | 247.54 | 399 | Ghantout | ||
| 402.75 | 250.26 | 403 | ||||
| 404.17 0.00 | 251.14 0.00 | Abu Dhabi-Dubai Border | ||||
| Dubai | Jebel Ali Hills | 1.51 | 0.94 | 2 | Saih Shuwaib 1 | |
| 4.65 | 2.89 | 5 | Dubai Parks and Resorts | |||
| Jebel Ali Industrial | 13.09 | 8.13 | 13A | |||
| 13.98 | 8.69 | 13B | ||||
| 18.93 | 11.76 | 20A | Jebel Ali Central Street | |||
| 19.27 | 11.97 | 20B | ||||
| 19.27 | 11.97 | 20C | ||||
| 22.09 | 13.73 | 22A | To | |||
| 23.08 | 14.34 | 22B | ||||
| Jebel Ali Village | 25.34 | 15.75 | 25 | Al Tahila Street | ||
| 26.89 | 16.71 | 27 | Ibn Battuta Street | |||
| 27.89 | 17.33 | 29 | Bluewaters Island | |||
| Dubai Marina | 31.42 | 19.52 | 32 | Al Sarayat Street, Al Naseem Street, Dubai Harbour | ||
| 33.32 | 20.70 | 34 | Nakhlat Jumeira Street, Al Falak Street, Dubai Harbour | |||
| 35.74 | 22.21 | 36 | ||||
| Al Barsha | 31.42 | 19.52 | 39 | |||
| Al Qouz | 39.91 | 24.80 | 40 | |||
| 42.17 | 26.20 | 43 | ||||
| 43.93 | 27.30 | 44 | ||||
| 44.25 | 27.50 | 45 | Al Waha Street | |||
| 46.38 | 28.82 | 47 | ||||
| Al Wasl | 48 | Al Khaleej Al Tejari 1 Street | ||||
| 50A | The Dubai Mall | |||||
| 50B | Al Sukook Street,DIFC | |||||
| 50C | ||||||
| Al Satwa | 51 | Al Boursa Street Museum of the Future | ||||
| 52 | Trade Centre Street | |||||
| 53 | ||||||
| Zaa'beel | 54A | |||||
| 54B | ||||||
| 54C | Zaa'beel Street | |||||
| 56A | ||||||
| 56B | ||||||
| 57 | Al Zahrawi Street,Al Jaddaf | |||||
| Al Garhoud | 58A | |||||
| 58B | Dubai Festival City | |||||
| 60 | City Centre Deira | |||||
| 61 | Terminal 1 and 3 | |||||
| Deira | 62 | |||||
| 65 | ||||||
| 66 | ||||||
| 67 | ||||||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
25°13′7″N55°16′48″E / 25.21861°N 55.28000°E /25.21861; 55.28000