Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008
Abu Dhabi: The massive bridge connecting Abu Dhabi city to the highways leading to Dubai and the northern emirates will enter final stages of construction next week.
A pair of arches, 60 metres high, will be installed on the bridge next week.
"The gigantic bridge will symbolise the sand dunes of the desert," said Juma'a Al Junaibi, General Manager of Abu Dhabi Municipality.
He said motorists will be able to see an "artificial sand dune" next week on the bridge under construction.
The arches, weighing about 2,000 tonnes, were manufactured in Jebel Ali and transported to the site. The other two arches were manufactured in Thailand.
The three twin arches and supports of the bridge will recreate the shape of sand dunes.
The already completed first and second stages of the bridge cost Dh264 million, said Abdullah Al Shamsi, director of roads and infrastructure at Abu Dhabi Municipality.
When the Dh910 million bridge is completed next year, it will help improve the flow of traffic to and from Abu Dhabi City and will be the main link to other emirates, Al Shamsi said.
Abu Dhabi has two main bridges - Maqta and Mussafah bridges.
Easing traffic
The new bridge will help residents cope with the rapidly increasing traffic and will ease pressure on Maqta bridge. It will connect the eastern ring road, Salam Street, to the highway towards Shahama and Dubai.
The bridge will have a dual carriageway - each with four traffic lanes 3.65m wide, along with a 3m wide hard shoulder on each side of the road.
The bridge will end near a roundabout that will lead the traffic to various directions, including Al Ain Road, Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Dubai.
The first phase of the project was infrastructure for vehicles from Shahama-Dubai road and headed towards Mussafah and Abu Dhabi. The four-lane road is complete.
The second stage of the project cost Dh107 million and includes two bridges on the west coast of the Maqta channel.
The first bridge is 290m long with four lanes in each direction along with hard shoulders.
It links the two bridges over the channel and the eastern ring road.
The second bridge is 300m long and links the bridge near Shaikh Zayed Mosque for the traffic from Mussafah, eastern and western areas.
The third phase of the project, costing Dh646 million, consists of an 850m long section that includes the bridge over Maqta channel and will link the eastern ring road in the island with Dubai highway.
The gigantic bridge will symbolise the sand dunes of the desert ... [motorists will be able to see] an artificial sand dune [next week]."
Building materials used:
243,000 cubic metres of reinforced concrete.
40,000 tonnes of reinforced steel.
5,000 tonnes of high tension cables.
700 tonnes of stainless steel.
12,000 tonnes of fabricated steel arches.
By Binsal Abdul KaderGulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
