E 66 road (United Arab Emirates)

E 66 (إ ٦٦) is a road in the United Arab Emirates. The road connects the city of Dubai to the interior city of Al Ain in the Eastern Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. E 66 runs roughly perpendicular to E 11 (Sheikh Zayed Road) and E 311 (Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road Road). Beginning in the locality of Oud Metha, E 11 progresses southward towards the interior. The road is referred to as the "Dubai-Al Ain Road", after its intersection with Emirates Road south of the city of Dubai, and "Tahnoun Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan Road", after Sheikh Tahnoun, the Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi.

Description
It goes through the towns of Al-Faqa' (shared by the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai) and Al-Hayer, and connects to Al Madam in the Emirate of Sharjah via Al-Shwaib. Once in Al Ain, a city that shares a border with Oman, the road becomes Emirates Street and later, Bani Yas Road.

History
In 2010, authorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi revamped the road in two phases. The first phase contained 3 lanes in each direction, and stretched 23 km from Al-Towayya to Al-Masaken. The second phase contained 4 lanes in each direction, and stretched 42 km from Al-Masaken to Al-Faqa'. In November 2018, under the directives of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the road was renamed after Sheikh Tahnoun.

In 2022, authorities undertook a project worth $ 544.9 million or AED 2 billion to improve the traffic flow in Dubai. Spanning 17 km from the intersection with the road to Ras Al-Khor to the intersection with the Emirates Road, the highway was widened from 3 lanes on each side to 6 lanes on each side, or 12 lanes in total, and 6 main interchanges were built. The interchanges stretch for 11.5 km, and have ramps and bridges. This part of the highway was opened by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum on Sunday the 29th of May.