A 1.4km four-lane bridge linking Dubai Islands and Bur Dubai will be constructed to complete the Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced on Wednesday.
The Dubai Islands project will have direct entry and exit points on the Bur Dubai side through a bridge stretching across the Dubai Creek between the Infinity Bridge and the Port Rashid Development Project.
According to RTA, the bridge extends 1,425 metres and comprises four lanes in each direction, with a total capacity of 16,000 vehicles per hour in both directions. It rises 15.5 metres above the waters of Dubai Creek and features a 75-metre-wide canal allowing ships of various types to traverse the creek.
The project encompasses a dedicated lane for cyclists and pedestrians on one side of the bridge, and two elevators will be installed at both ends to ease the mobility of pedestrians and cyclists. The project also sets forth the construction of surface roads extending approximately 2,000 metres to connect with the existing roads from both ends of the Dubai Islands and Bur Dubai.
The project is set to be completed in 2026.
Mega-project
The agreement to construct a bridge linking Dubai Islands and Bur Dubai was formalised on Wednesday by Mattar Al Tayer, RTA director general and chairman of the board of executive directors, and Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, chairman of the board of directors of Nakheel.
Al Tayer said: “This marks the second agreement under the initiative to provide entrances and exits leading to Dubai Islands, a venture RTA successfully undertook in partnership with Nakheel in 2020…This project forms a key phase of the Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project, one of the largest projects currently being undertaken by RTA with a total estimated cost of Dh5.3 billion. It encompasses the construction of 15 intersections spanning 13 km in total.
“The Corridor serves Deira and Bur Dubai in addition to several development projects such as Dubai Islands, Dubai Seafront, Dubai Maritime City and Port Rashid. As such, it is expected to serve about one million people. It will slash the travel time from 104 minutes to just 16 minutes by 2030, and the time saved over 20 years will be worth about Dh45 billion,” added Al Tayer.
Al Shaibani added that the Dubai Islands will be easily accessible by land and sea through well-planned road bridges and water transport.