Five new bridges leading to Deira Islands open to traffic

Five new bridges leading to the entrance of the man-made Deira Islands have opened to traffic. Courtesy: Dubai RTA

Five new bridges leading to the entrance of the man-made Deira Islands have opened to traffic.

The bridges improve entry and exit from the four islands from Al Khaleej Street and Abu Baker Al Siddique Street.

The new roads can handle up to 20,700 vehicles per hour, said Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

“The newly constructed bridges and roads provide access points to and from Deira Islands at the intersection of Al Khaleej and Abu Baker Al Siddique streets,” said Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, RTA director general.

“The bridges span 2,571 metres in length.”

The Deira Islands project is a lavish waterfront development which has been years in the making.

Developed by Nakheel, it consists of four man-made islands and will span 17 million square metres along the coast of Deira.

The project is expected to attract 250,000 residents and will also be home to marinas, hotels and mixed-use buildings.

Traffic studies indicated that the project will generate about 110,000 journeys during peak hours, which requires a huge infrastructure of roads and public transport networks.

The bridges leading to Deira Islands Project is a key part of the Al Shindagha Corridor Project that stretches 13km along the Sheikh Rashid, Al Mina, Al Khaleej and Cairo Streets.

The Al Shindagha Corridor project has been split into five sections, of which the first two have been completed.

These include upgrading the junction of the Sheikh Rashid-Oud Metha streets (Wafi Junction), and the intersection between the Sheikh Rashid-Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed streets.

Work is currently underway on the third phase of the project, which will cover entry and exit points at Deira Islands at the intersection of Abu Baker Al Siddique Street.

The work will also include improvements on Corniche Street as well as the intersections at Al Khaleej and Falcon streets.

This phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

The project’s fourth phase will include the construction of bridges stretching 3.4 km, tunnels that extend to 2.25 km, six surface junctions, and roads extending to 5.1 km.

The fourth phase is due to be completed by the end of 2025.

The fifth and final phase covers the construction of bridges leading to the south of Deira Islands, extending to 1.5 km.

This is expected to be completed by 2027.