New bridges in Dubai to reduce travel time by 40% to 70%

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) opened two major bridges on Sunday as part of the Garn Al Sabkha-Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road Intersection Improvement Project.

The first is a two-lane bridge, spanning 601 metres with a capacity of 3,200 vehicles per hour. It serves eastbound traffic from Garn Al Sabkha Street to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, then northward towards Al Qusais and Deira.

The second is a two-lane bridge, spanning 664 metres, enabling free traffic flow by eliminating the overlap of traffic coming from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road heading southwards towards Al Yalayis Street and Jebel Ali Port. It is designed to accommodate 3,200 vehicles per hour.

All project works are set to be completed this October with the opening of the final bridge, which will connect the intersection of Garn Al Sabkha Street with Al Asayel Street.

This bridge spans 943 metres, with two lanes in each direction, and is designed to handle 8,000 vehicles per hour in total. It will ensure seamless traffic flow between Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road.

An aerial view of one of the two newly opened bridges in Dubai.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, RTA, announced that the completion rate had reached 97 percent in the Garn Al Sabkha-Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road Intersection Improvement Project.

Al Tayer added, "The project constitutes a crucial link between Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, thus facilitating traffic flow between Sheikh Zayed Road, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, First Al Khail Road, and Al Asayel Street. It involves the construction of four bridges, stretching a total of 2,874 metres with a capacity of 17,600 vehicles per hour. Last June, RTA inaugurated a two-lane bridge extending 666 metres with a capacity of 3,200 vehicles per hour. This contributed to the smooth movement of vehicles by eliminating traffic overlap from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road to the service road leading to Jumeirah Golf Estates and Dubai Production City."

"Upon completion, the project will reduce the distance and journey time from Garn Al Sabkha Street to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road towards Al Qusais and Deira by 40 percent, cutting travel time from 20 minutes to 12 minutes during peak hours. It will also reduce the journey time for motorists travelling from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road to Al Yalayis Street towards Jebel Ali Port by 70 percent, decreasing the journey from 21 minutes to 7 minutes," added Al Tayer.

The project includes road works spanning 7 km, with improvements to surface intersections on the service road parallel to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, as well as upgrades to streetlights, traffic signals, traffic systems, stormwater drainage networks, and irrigation systems.

The Garn Al Sabkha-Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road Intersection Improvement Project is part of RTA’s master plan to develop strategic east-west traffic corridors and arterial roads, such as the recently completed Al Yalayis Street and Expo Street. These corridors support Dubai’s mobility networks, serve numerous development projects on both sides, and accommodate current and future traffic volumes.

WAM