Dubai: A main under-construction bridge on Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street will open in January next year, easing traffic to and from Karama, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said on Saturday.

Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors of the RTA, announced that the RTA would open the main bridge on Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street in January.

The bridge is part of the Improvement of Shaikh Rashid-Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Streets Intersection Project, taking shape at the intersection popularly known as “Sana junction”.

Al Tayer also said the RTA would open a tunnel linking Al Garhoud and Mina Rashid in both directions in the second quarter of 2018. He noted that the completion rate of the entire project had reached 70 per cent.

Al Tayer made the announcements during an inspection tour of the project, which forms a vital part of Improvement of Al Shandagha Roads Network Project. The project is located at the intersection of Shaikh Rashid Street in the direction of the northern end of Al Shandagha Network, and Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street in the direction of the intersection with Al Kuwait Street.

The project is part of RTA’s masterplan for the improvement of roads, bridges, crossings and underpasses to accommodate the growing traffic volumes, and ease the traffic movement in all parts of Dubai. It is also part of the overall efforts to implement RTA’s strategic plan for upgrading roads and transport infrastructure in Dubai. The objective, the RTA said, is to develop integrated solutions of roads and marine network that is safe for users, capable of matching to the development plans and demographic growth, and encouraging the development and investment in the emirate.

“The project includes the construction of a bridge on Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street, a tunnel on Shaikh Rashid Street, and a bridge on Zabeel Street in the direction of Shaikh Rashid Street. The objective of such works is to ensure a free traffic movement from the Trade Center Roundabout to the intersection of Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street and Al Kuwait Street through a two-lane bridge in each direction,” said Al Tayer.

“The project also entails the construction of a tunnel of four lanes in each direction on the Shaikh Rashid Street in the direction of the intersection with Al Mankhool Street, and a signalised junction under the bridge to provide free turns from main roads to subsidiary roads. The bridge has a one-directional ramp stretching from Umm Hurair Street to Shaikh Rashid Street. It also includes lighting, pavement, irrigation, sewage, storm-water drainage works as well as the shifting of utility lines such as electricity, water and telecommunication.”

The construction of Shaikh Rashid-Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Streets Intersection Project follows the opening of the Improvement of Wafi Intersection Project in April 2016. Wafi Intersection is considered one of the vital junctions in Dubai, intersecting with Shaikh Rashid Street and Oud Metha Street. It encompassed the construction of a three-lane bridge from Oud Metha Street (near Latifa Hospital) in the direction of Shaikh Rashid Street, and from there to Shaikh Zayed Road and Al Sa’ada Street (Upper Deck leading to the Dubai World Trade Centre). The bridge extends 700 meters and can accommodate 3,300 vehicles per hour

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