UAE | Traffic and Transport
Dubai Creek project: Traffic diversion on Shaikh Zayed Road soon
800 metres between the Second interchange and Dnata building will be affected.
- By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter
- Published: 00:21 February 16, 2009
- Image Credit: Supplied Picture
- An artist's impression of the Dubai Creek extension project. Once completed, the final length of the creek will be around 26.2 kilometres with Bur Dubai becoming an island within the Dubai Creek ring.
Dubai: Motorists are expected to face longer delays on Shaikh Zayed Road as traffic will be diverted due to the construction of bridges for the Dubai Creek extension project, Gulf News has learnt.
"Major diversions will take place within a few weeks, as part of Shaikh Zayed Road will be lifted to pave way for the construction of a canal," said a senior official.
A stretch of some 800 metres of the road between the Second Interchange (Al Safa Interchange) and the Dnata building (before the Salik toll gate) will be affected.
Traffic diversions will be in place within a few weeks but the exact date has not yet been announced. However, an RTA source said that the diversions are being planned and will probably be in place next month.
It is also still to be decided whether Salik toll charges will be waived for motorists facing major traffic diversion on this road.
The RTA official said that preparations are in the final stages to start construction on the most crucial part of the Dubai Creek extension - from Business Bay off Shaikh Zayed Road to the Arabian Gulf.
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The bridge on Shaikh Zayed Road will be 800 metres long with six lanes in each direction. It will be 8.5 metres high to ensure smooth sailing for marine transport.
A six-lane bridge with three lanes on each direction will also be built on Al Wasl Road next to the Safa Park. Another six-lane bridge with three lanes on each side will be built on Jumeirah Road.
The canal will be 100 metres wide. The project involves extension of the Dubai Creek by 2.2km from Business Bay to the Arabian Gulf through Safa Park and Jumeirah 2. The project will be carried out in three phases and will be completed by the end of 2010.
The Dubai Creek extension canal will be part of Dubai's ambitious plan for marine transport, as it will be used by private boats, water taxis and ferries used in public transport.
Some 10km of the total 12.2km of the Dubai Creek extension work has already been completed in the Business Bay.
"The most critical part of the extension work is the next 2.2 kilometre stretch which will take the creek from Shaikh Zayed Road back to the sea," Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA, had said earlier.
Dubai Creek, which starts at the Arabian Gulf near Al Shindagha in Bur Dubai, is currently 14km long and ends naturally at Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary.
The RTA will also improve the road network along the bridges and the canal. The canal will have roads on both sides. It will have walkways and cycling tracks.
Some four pedestrian bridges will also be built over the canal for pedestrians and cyclists.
The project also includes landscaping, provision of seating areas, public service areas and more parking spaces near Safa Park.
Numbers: Area and length
- Existing length of Dubai Creek: 14 km
- Extension within the Business Bay: 10 Km
- Extension from Shaikh Zayed Road to Arabian Sea: 2.2 km - Total length after exension: 26.2 km
- Width of the extended canal: 100 metres
- Completion: 2010
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