Garhoud bridge will handle 16,000 vehicles an hour

Dubai: The new Al Garhoud bridge, which is set to open in March next year, will be capable of handling 16,000 vehicles per hour, said a senior official.

Maitha Obaid Bin Udai, Chief Executive Officer of the Traffic and Roads Agency at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority, said 76 per cent of construction work on the new Al Garhoud bridge has been completed.

The cost of the project, which started in February 2006, is Dh415 million. The new bridge will replace the existing Al Garhoud bridge.

Smooth traffic flow

"The bridge has seven lanes in each direction and its total length is 520 metres. It is 16 metres above the water, ensuring free navigation for boats in Dubai Creek," said Maitha.

The present Al Garhoud bridge is congested because it has only three lanes in each direction. From Deira, at least seven lanes lead to the bridge including four from Al Ittihad Road, two from Al Rabat Road and one lane from Al Bustan Road.

All of them converge into three lanes at Al Garhoud bridge, creating traffic congestion.

Similarly, at least five lanes from Shaikh Zayed Road converge into the three lanes on the bridge.

"The new bridge has been designed to ensure a balance between the number of lanes on the bridge and the number of lanes leading to it from both sides to avoid any congestion," said Maitha.