Dubai RTA Opens Two New Bridges to Cut Travel Time by 75 Percent

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority opened two new bridges on March 6 as part of the Oud Maitha and Al Asayel Streets Development Project, a component of the wider Sheikh Rashid Corridor Development initiative aimed at improving connectivity and reducing congestion in central Dubai.

The newly opened structures link Al Asayel Street with Al Khail Road via Al Wasl Club Street.

The first bridge handles traffic from Al Asayel Street toward Al Wasl Club Street and has a design capacity of approximately 2,400 vehicles per hour. The second bridge, located at the intersection of Al Wasl Club Street and Al Khail Road, carries traffic from Al Asayel Street toward Business Bay Crossing and has a capacity of approximately 3,000 vehicles per hour.

Dubai New Bridges: Location and Capacity

The project also involves widening an existing bridge from two lanes to three for traffic travelling from Al Khail Road toward Oud Maitha Street, increasing its capacity from 2,200 to 3,300 vehicles per hour.

The project will increase the traffic-carrying capacity of Oud Maitha Street from 10,400 vehicles per hour in both directions to 15,600 vehicles per hour, a 50 percent increase, and reduce average journey time from 20 minutes to five minutes, an improvement of 75 percent.

Sheikh Rashid Corridor Project: Scope and Progress

The project encompasses the upgrade of four major intersections, including the construction of bridges and two tunnels spanning 4.3 km, alongside 14 km of new roadways.

The RTA announced that 72 percent of the overall project has been completed, and 70 percent of tunnel construction is also complete. The tunnel will serve traffic from Dubai–Al Ain Road toward the Oud Maitha service road. Additional road expansions and bridge structures are expected to open in the third quarter of this year.

Additional improvements include expanding right-turn lanes from Sheikh Rashid Street to Oud Maitha Street toward Dubai–Al Ain Road from two lanes to three, raising capacity to 4,000 vehicles per hour. A new dedicated left-turn slip lane has also been added at the intersection of Oud Maitha Street and Sheikh Rashid Street for traffic heading toward Al Garhoud Bridge, increasing capacity to 1,800 vehicles per hour.

RTA Dubai Traffic Plan: Areas and Communities Served

Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, stated that the development aligns with the directives of the leadership to support the Sheikh Rashid Corridor and address the emirate's continuous urban development and increasing population. The project benefits areas most notably Zabeel, Al Jaddaf, Oud Maitha, and Umm Hurair.

By 2030, the project is expected to serve approximately 420,000 residents in the surrounding communities.

The March 6 opening follows the inauguration of a separate 1,000-metre bridge near the World Trade Centre Roundabout on February 27, which reduced journey times on that corridor from six minutes to one minute. That project, also managed by the RTA, is part of the Trade Centre Roundabout Development Project and includes five bridges spanning 5,000 metres in total.