Abu Dhabi’s growth, told through the iconic four bridges

Abu Dhabi- One bridge was designed to echo the dunes. Another guarded the only road into the city for decades. A third opened an island for leisure, while the fourth was built for people on foot. Together, Abu Dhabi's bridges trace the story of a capital that has never stopped expanding.

Al Maqta- in Arabic means “the crossing’. The bridge was the original link between Abu Dhabi Island and the mainland. A landmark known mainly for its history rather than its looks. A narrow causeway built in 1949 was the first, it followed by the steel bridge in 1967.

With a total length of approximately 300m, it was the first landmark bridge in Abu Dhabi, sitting next to the historic Al Maqta Fort and Al Maqta Watchtower. Nearly everyone who has driven into Abu Dhabi has crossed the bridge and witnessed the view of the approaching emirate.

Photographs taken shortly after it opened show a city that was barely visible across the desert haze, and the site of today's Fairmont and Shangri-La hotels used to be an empty land.

The 912-metre-long structure, Sheikh Zayed Bridge, some even call it ‘the bridge infused with the Emirati personality’, or ‘the Zaha Hadid bridge’, was inspired by the rolling dunes of the desert.

Created by the renowned architect Zaha Hadid and was officially inaugurated on November 25, 2010.

The bridge connects the Island of Abu Dhabi with the rest of the UAE, known to have eased traffic that moves to Dubai from the city.  It also serves as another connector across the Maqta canal, easing congestion on the other existing canal crossings, Al Maqta Bridge and the Mussafah Bridge.

For people, it directly connects Al Salam Street in downtown Abu Dhabi to the main highway leading toward Dubai and Shahama. The sunset views at the bridge have been a moment of beauty for most photo enthusiasts, or even someone driving along the bridge, on a tiring evening back to Dubai.

More of a functional and recreational connector than a widely recognised landmark, but now they know it as the road to leisure. It was built to reach an island that was entirely empty up until 2017.

It was launched officially launched in 2012, with a height that allows ships to pass underneath it, according to Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC).

The bridge was once called ‘a bridge to nowhere” by the locals but rather it played an important role as the connection when one wants to reach out to beaches or beach clubs and even for dining with the ocean views.

The Project is considered as the cornerstone of Abu Dhabi’s long term strategic growth, acting as the pillar supporting the emirate’s economic diversification.

The pedestrian bridges form part of the Al Qana leisure development rather than serving as standalone landmarks, built with 2,200 tons of steel. It was opened to public on March 1, 2022.

Four pedestrian bridges connect the two sides of Al Qana’s 2.4-kilometre waterfront channel, providing access between venues along the development.

The bridges have a modern architectural design and are illuminated in the evening. While the pedestrians take the direct route between attractions on one bank and restaurants on the other, view runs toward the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which the developer describes as a direct line of sight.