New bridge to replace Creek floating bridge

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, today viewed the Al Ittihad Bridge project being implemented by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) at a total cost of Dh1.1 billion, in the presence of Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai.

The new bridge will replace the current Floating Bridge which will be shifted to the Sheraton crossing, linking the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road in Bur Dubai and Omar ibn Al Khatab Road in Deira.

At the end of the Rashid Hospital Tunnels project, which opened yesterday, Sheikh Mohammed heard a detailed explanation from Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of RTA, about the project, which is the seventh bridge on Dubai Greek.

Mattar Al Tayer told Sheikh Mohammed that the construction work on the bridge would commence in the last quarter of 2014 and is slated to continue for three years.

Al Tayer said the new 61 metre wide and 15 metre high bridge will have 12 lanes in two directions besides a pedestrian walkway. The bridge, he added, would stretch from the Dubai Creek Park in Bur Dubai to City Centre and Dubai Golf Club in Deira.

''The bridge will facilitate easy vehicular traffic and smooth navigation round the clock,'' he noted, saying that the bridge will have an estimated capacity of 24,000 vehicle per hour, providing free traffic movement between the Dubai Creek banks.

Sheikh Mohammed was also briefed on the Rashid Hospital Tunnels, part of a mega Dh720 million tunnel project, which was opened to traffic yesterday.

Several streets and two tunnels have been built as part of the Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project, aimed at reducing traffic congestion in the area of Sheikh Rashid Hospital. The project is expected to ease traffic coming from Tariq bin Ziyad and Umm Harir Streets, heading towards the intersection of Al Riyadh Street with the extension of the Floating Bridge.

The first tunnel passes from Tariq bin Ziyad Street under the Al Maktoum Bridge, and the other, which is inbound from Umm Harir Street, passes across Oud Metha Park. Both of the two-way tunnels merge to form a four-lane street heading towards Al Riyadh Street via Rashid Hospital.

The Vice President credited the RTA's tremendous efforts which aim to build a modern road network to cope with the rapid increase in vehicles and traffic.

Sheikh Mohammed emphasised the need for taking aesthetic aspects into account, as well as providing the utmost safety and security for motorists and pedestrians alike.

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