Dh3b arch-bridge will be sixth Dubai Creek crossing

Dubai Dubai will have a landmark bridge over the creek linking new residential and commercial development projects in the city.

Construction on a new bridge called the Sixth Crossing will start in March this year and is expected to be complete in 2012.

"The project, the biggest ever single road project launched by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), also include new road developments with 12km new roads and 22 intersections in the surrounding areas," said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA.

The total cost of the project is around Dh3 billion, including Dh2.5 billion for the new bridge.

"It will be a new landmark in Dubai," Al Tayer told a press conference yesterday. The bridge is 1.6-km long, 64 metres wide and 15 metres above the water level. It will have 12 lanes and track for the Green Line of Dubai Metro. It will have a capacity of around 20,000 vehicles per hour.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has already approved the design of the Sixth Crossing.

The crossing links Al Jaddaf and Business Bay at Bur Dubai with the road separating The Lagoons and Dubai Festival City. It will also provide entry and exit points for the Creek Island; on which Opera building will be constructed by Sama Dubai.

Trend reversed

"Earlier, we used to prepare infrastructure after the development projects are complete but the RTA has reversed this trend by building infrastructure before the development projects are built," said Al Tayer.

He reiterated that there would be no traffic congestion in Dubai within the next two to three years. "The aim of the new project is to ease traffic flow between the two sides the Dubai Creek and serving the new property developments such as Dubai Healthcare City, Sama Al-Jaddaf, and Culture Village on Bur Dubai side and the Dubai Festival City, The Lagoons, International City, and Dubai Design Centre on Deira side," said Maitha Obaid Bin Udai, Chief Executive Officer of the Traffic and Roads Agency at the RTA.

Features

She said the new road network in the areas will interlink Shaikh Rashid Road, Oud Maitha Road, Ras Al Khor Road and the Sixth Crossing.

The bridge is modelled in the shape of an arch. It could be viewed like an acoustic wave forming a tone compatible with an opera. It could also be viewed like a dune or a new moon in Dubai night.

The bridge will have a metro station, abra station, and a new island that will be built on the Creek, with a theatre for staging various events. The giant arch at the bridge will be 205 metres high and 667 metres long becoming the longest arch-bridge ever built in the world.

Maitha said the project will be divided into six phases to expedite the construction work. The first stage includes construction works of the Sixth Crossing at Dubai Creek. The second phase includes construction of intersections at Deira side to serve The Lagoon and Dubai Festival City.

The Third Phase includes implementation of intersections at Deira side extending from Nad Al Hamar up to Al Aweer Road.

Phase Four includes building of intersections in Bur Dubai linking the Sixth Crossing with Ras Al Khor (Business Bay Crossing).

Phase Five includes construction of intersections in Bur Dubai linking the Sixth Crossing with Shaikh Rashid Road and the Al Garhoud Bridge.

The Sixth Phase includes construction of intersections in Bur Dubai linking Ras Al Khor with Oud Metha Road and the Parallel Roads.

Infrastructure: Across the water