VIDEO: New Dubai bridge to cut travel time from 20 minutes to just 5 minutes

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) opened a major three-lane bridge on Sunday, as part of the Oud Metha and Al Asayel Streets Development Project. The bridge has a capacity of 3,600 vehicles per hour and serves traffic coming from Al Khail Road towards Al Asayel Street via Al Wasl Club Street. It will also reduce travel time from 20 minutes to 5 minutes.

RTA also announced that 90% of the overall project is complete. By end of August this year, RTA is scheduled to open two tunnels. The first will connect the service road on Oud Metha Street to the Sheikh Rashid Road intersection for traffic heading towards Bur Dubai, while the second will serve traffic coming from Dubai–Al Ain Road towards Al Wasl Club Street, helping address current traffic overlaps. RTA will also open a bridge serving left-turn movements for traffic coming from Al Asayel Street towards Oud Metha Street.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, Roads and Transport Authority, said: “Oud Metha and Al Asayel Streets Development Project is being implemented under the directives of the wise leadership as part of the completion of Sheikh Rashid Corridor Development Project, to accommodate the requirements of urban development and population growth.

“The project will increase the capacity of Oud Metha Street from 10,400 vehicles per hour in both directions to 15,600 vehicles per hour in both directions, an increase of 50%. It will also reduce travel time from 20 minutes to 5 minutes, an improvement of 75%.”

In the first quarter of this year, RTA opened two bridges. The first is located at the intersection of Oud Metha Street with Al Asayel Street and Al Wasl Club Street. It consists of two lanes, with an estimated capacity of 2,400 vehicles per hour, and serves traffic from Al Asayel Street towards Al Wasl Club Street, contributing to smoother traffic flow and reduced journey times in the area.

The second bridge is located at the intersection of Al Wasl Club Street with Al Khail Road. It serves traffic from Al Asayel Street towards Al Khail Road in the direction of Business Bay Crossing and consists of two lanes with a capacity of 3,000 vehicles per hour.

Oud Metha and Al Asayel Streets Development Project covers the improvement of four major intersections, including the intersection of Oud Metha Street with Sheikh Rashid Road, where an additional lane will be added to the left-turn ramp serving traffic from Oud Metha Street onto Sheikh Rashid Road towards Al Garhoud Bridge, increasing capacity to 1,800 vehicles per hour.

Work at the intersection also include upgrading the service road on Sheikh Rashid Road between the existing bridge and Al Zahrawi Street exit to address current traffic overlaps and enhance safety for road users. The number of lanes for right-turn movements from Sheikh Rashid Road onto Oud Metha Street towards Dubai–Al Ain Road will also be increased from two to three, raising capacity to 4,000 vehicles per hour.

Three bridges

The project also includes the improvement of the intersection of Oud Metha Street with Al Asayel Street and Al Wasl Club Street, through the construction of two bridges linking Al Asayel Street with Al Khail Road via Al Wasl Club Street.

The first bridge consists of two lanes, with a capacity of 2,400 vehicles per hour, and serves traffic from Al Asayel Street towards Al Wasl Club Street. The second bridge consists of three lanes, with a capacity of 3,600 vehicles per hour, and serves traffic from Al Khail Road towards Al Asayel Street.

A separate two-lane bridge, with a capacity of 2,400 vehicles per hour, will serve left-turn movements from Al Asayel Street towards Oud Metha Street. The project further covers the improvement of the access road to Al Wasl Club, as well as the entry and exit points of Al Wasl Club Street, to address current traffic overlaps from the main road.

The project also includes the improvement of the intersection of Al Wasl Club Street with Al Khail Road through the construction of a two-lane bridge serving traffic from Al Asayel Street to Al Khail Road towards Business Bay Crossing, with a capacity of 3,000 vehicles per hour.