Dubai: Construction work on the Dh705 million Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project to ease traffic congestion in Bur Dubai area, is progressing at full pace, said a senior official on Saturday.
"Some 65 per cent of the tunnel work on the project has been completed while 75 per cent of the work on the roads outside the tunnels has also been done," said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)
Al Tayer said the Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project was part of the RTA's master plan to alleviate traffic congestion in the vicinity of Rashid Hospital and improve traffic flow in the Bur Dubai area.
The project comprises construction of roads and two tunnels to serve the traffic inbound from Tariq Bin Ziad and Umm Hurair Roads and outbound to the intersection of Riyadh Road leading up to the Floating Bridge.
The first tunnel starts from Tariq Bin Ziad Road in Bur Dubai near Al Maktoum Bridge and the second tunnel starts from Umm Hurair Road, passes through Oud Metha Park towards Rashid Hospital. The two tunnels converge to make a four-lane tunnel heading towards Riyadh Road under Rashid Hospital.
The project also includes expanding Riyadh Road intersection with the extension of the Floating Bridge. It will create a new road corridor, easing traffic around Rashid Hospital. "Once the project is completed, motorists will have direct and easy access from Bur Dubai to Floating Bridge and vice versa," said Al Tayer.
He added that the RTA undertook several projects in Bur Dubai area to ease traffic bottlenecks and increase capacity of roads to cope with heavy traffic flow in the area.
The RTA had also constructed the Floating Bridge, which is just half a kilometre off Al Maktoum Bridge, comprising six lanes. The project helped ease traffic on Al Maktoum and Al Garhoud Bridges.
The RTA had also widened Al Maktoum Bridge from nine to 11 lanes, further easing the traffic flow on the bridge. It also improved and widened Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road to ease the pressure on this vital road in order to improve its traffic flow towards Deira.
The RTA said it will continue with the improvement of key roads in Dubai to keep pace with the developments, increasing number of population and vehicles in the city.
On track: Project
Development: Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project
Developer: Dubai Roads and Transport Authority
Overall cost: Dh705 million
