Two new permanent bridges will be built across Dubai Creek at a cost of about Dh1 billion by 2009, according to an announcement yesterday from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
Currently motorists cross the Creek via Al Garhoud Bridge, Al Maktoum Bridge or the Shindagha Tunnel.
The Ras Al Khor Bridge is currently under construction and is expected to open in January next year, while the RTA last week also announced plans for a floating bridge.
Construction on the bridges announced yesterday is expected to start next year.
"This is only an engineering solution to the traffic problem," said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman and CEO of the authority. He added that other measures to manage traffic flow, including new legislation, are being considered.
The first planned bridge, the Al Shindagha Bridge, will be built near the Shindagha Tunnel.The bridge will connect the interchange between Al Khaleej Street and Omar bin Al Khattab Road with the Al Sagar Interchange and will have a capacity of six lanes in each direction.
The second project, known as the Fifth Bridge, will be built in the vicinity of the Sheraton Hotel in Deira - linking the Omar bin Al Khattab Road with Khalifa bin Zayed Street in Bur Dubai. The bridge will initially have four lanes in each direction - but will likely be extended to six lanes in each direction at a later stage.
This bridge will feature a 100metre-high tower that will contain a restaurant and offer panoramic views of the city. People will be able to reach the tower on foot, by boat or via sea taxi.
The Fifth Bridge will begin with two lanes in front of the BurJuman Centre in Bur Dubai.Two other lanes will join from Khaled bin Al Waleed Street and from Road Three in the Consulates district.The first lane will lead to Banyas Road and the second to Al Maktoum Road, while the other lanes will lead to Omar bin Al Khattab Road.
The authority also plans to upgrade the approaches to the bridges. These will then form a ring road around the city's commercial district on both sides of the Creek. Upgrades will be constructed on 13 interchanges and the bridges along the internal ring road, from Khalifa bin Zayed Street, to Sheikh Rashid Road, Al Khaleej Road and over to Omar bin Al Khattab Road.
The bridge proposals were put forward by a participant of a competition for transport consultants organized by the authority earlier this year. Officials confirmed the competition prize to be Dh1.5 million.The funds will be taken out of the consultant's fees if the projects are approved.
Lane increases
The number of lanes crossing Dubai Creek is going to increase dramatically in the next five years, said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman and CEO of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority.
While at present there are 16,000 cars crossing the Creek per hour in each direction, this figure is expected to increase to 43,000 by 2020, he said. Accordingly, the number of lanes over the Creek will increase from the current 19, to 45 by the end of 2008. After that, the number of lanes might double with more projects coming up.
"This will depend on contractor capacity," said Al Tayer, explaining that some of the projects might be implemented in 2011 or 2012.
By Vesela Todorova
© Emirates Today 2006
