A New York architectural firm has been selected by Dubai authorities to design the longest and what could be the most expensive arch bridge in the world.
The firm FXFOWLE has designed a unique structure that will include massive archways that will tower 205 metres above 12 lanes of traffic and two railway lines carrying Dubai Metro trains along the Green Line.
The bridge's largest main span will be 667 metres long, eclipsing the 550-metre main span of Lupu Bridge in Shanghai, China, which is currently the world's longest arch bridge.
The Dh3-billion project will take four years to build, said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Roads and Transport Authority.
It “should be completed by the end of 2012 if not sooner,'' he told XPRESS following a press conference Tuesday.
Images of the proposed structure reveal an ambitious plan to erect a sixth crossing over Dubai Creek that will link Dubai Festival City and Al Jaddaf on the west side of the creek.
The design is based on an “acoustic wave'' and will depend on an artificial island built just to the north of the existing Creek Island where the proposed Dubai Opera house is planned in coming years.
Al Tayer told reporters that the project is one of the largest in the RTA's history and is so large, in fact, that it will require the project to be done in six phases.
Construction will take four years to complete.
The proposed bridge will be located south of the existing Business Bay Crossing and will be large enough to handle 20,000 vehicles per hour across 12 lanes in total, six lanes in each direction, Al Tayer said.
The metro train will carry 23,000 passengers an hour across the bridge.
The bridge will rise 15 metres above the creek to allow for free navigation, although the floating bridge to the north which was erected last year has already blocked some boats.
Despite the bridge's scale, the RTA's Traffic and Roads Agency CEO Maitha bin Adai said that the structure has been designed to be integrated into the environment and natural surroundings.
She said that is “the beauty of the design, the harmony of construction that fits into the environment''.
The firm FXFOWLE's international director Steven Miller couldn't be reached for comment at the company's Dubai office on Tuesday.
But the company states on its website that it “is committed to creating architect6ure which stimulates and inspires; an architecture that tells the story of place, of institutional and individual aspiration, and of synergy between the natural and built realms.
“Over the years, the meaning of green architecture and sustainable design has evolved an FXFOWLE has remained in the forefront of that dialogue,'' the firm stated.
Images released by the RTA show that the bridge will be illuminated at night in a way that resembles the varying fullness of the moon.
FAST FACTS
• The bridge will cost Dh3 billion
• Construction will take four years
• The giant arch is 205 metres high and 667 metres long making it the longest span in the world
• The Green Line of the Dubai Metro will pass down the centre of the new bridge
• The project will serve Dubai Healthcare City, Sama Al-Jadaf and Culture Village
• There will be 12 lanes on the bridge, six in each direction
• The bridge will be 15 metres above the creek surface to allow for free navigation
Source: RTA
