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29 March 2024

Rashid Hospital tunnels project 50% complete

Roads are being widened in areas surrounding the tunnels. (SUPPLIED)

Published
By Staff Writer

Work at Rashid Hospital tunnels has been completed 50 per cent, said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).

Preparations have been made for the basic traffic diversion under second phase of the project which would enable the contractor construct the remaining tunnel units, he said.

Nineteen tunnel units out of a total of 30 had been completed which accounted for 65 per cent of the required works under the initial phase of the project, said Al Tayer.

Installation of the electromechanical fittings would be initiated after opening the second stage of the traffic diversion. Works on surface roads outside the tunnelling area had so far reached a 75 per cent completion rate.

"The Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project, which costs about Dh705 million, is part of an RTA master plan to alleviate traffic jams in the vicinity of the hospital and improve traffic flow in the area. Upon completion of the project, the capacity of roads within the project zone is set to rise to about 6,000 vehicles per hour," said Al Tayer.

"The project comprises construction of roads and two tunnels to serve the traffic inbound from Tariq bin Ziyad and Umm Harir roads and outbound to the intersection of Riyadh Road the extension of the Floating Bridge, with each tunnel comprising two lanes. The first tunnel branches out of Tariq bin Ziyad Road beneath Al Maktoum Bridge, and the second tunnel, inbound from Umm Harir Road, passes through Oud Metha Park, and the two tunnels converge to make a four-lane tunnel heading to Riyadh Road via Rashid Hospital," he said.

"The project also encompasses converting Riyadh Road intersection with the extension of the Floating Bridge into a four-lane road. A road will be constructed to serve the traffic inbound from the Floating Bridge heading towards Tariq bin Ziyad Road" added Al Tayer.

The RTA undertook several projects in Bur Dubai to ease traffic bottlenecks and increase the intake of roads in order to cater to the urban expansion and resulting vehicular traffic.

The RTA had constructed the Floating Bridge, which is just 500m off Al Maktoum Bridge, comprising six lanes extending from the surface intersection near City Center and Dubai Golf Club (Deira) and terminating at the would-be constructed intersection at Riyadh Road.

The project included modifications with the aim of improving the efficiency of the intersection in the vicinity of Riyadh Road, where rouna bouts on the way towards Creek Park had been converted into signalised junctions. The project also involved construction of an extra lane linking Khalid bin Al Waleed and Oud Metha Roads on the one hand and Al Ittihad Road and Deira on the other.

The RTA had also widened Al Maktoum Bridge from nine to 11 lanes and the project also encompassed widening of roads leading to the bridge and the approach to the bridge at Umm Harir Road from two to three lanes. It will ease the flow of traffic inbound from Sheikh Zayed Road towards Deira. The project also included the improvement of Khalid bin Al Waleed Road to ease the pressure on this vital road in order to improve its traffic flow towards Deira. The Maktoum Bridge improvement and widening works also included increasing the number of lanes from Deira heading to Bur Dubai from four to six lanes.

Al Tayer stressed that the RTA would carry on with the improvement of key roads in the city as part of the vital projects undertaken to upgrade and improve roads; and provide advanced services to residential areas.

 

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