Dubai: A new access point linking Al Khail Road South to the upper deck of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Road and opening next month will ease traffic in Downtown Dubai.
The 1.2km long ramp, which is connected to the new parking block of The Dubai Mall, caters to the anticipated demand following the expansion of the mall.
Being built in cooperation with Emaar Properties, the two-lane bridge that has been under construction from last year is currently receiving finishing touches and will open for traffic early next month, Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), announced on Saturday.
“The project encompasses the construction of a two-lane, one-way bridge extending 1,270 metres at a width of 11 to 15 metres built on single columns crossing over the Dubai Water Canal,” said Al Tayer.
The bridge, which starts from the intersection of Ras Al Khor Road and Al Khail Road, adds two lanes extending 480 metres to the existing road to enable direct flow of traffic from the Dubai-Al Ain Road to Al Khail Road via the upper deck of the DIFC Road.
“Work includes providing an entry point for the parking terminal of the extension of The Dubai Mall. The project will ease the flow of traffic along the DIFC Road and surface intersections, thus easing the pressure on the intersections of Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard,” said Al Tayer.
He added that the project will raise the capacity of the road to 4,500 vehicles per hour during peaking hours, serving several developments in the area and ease the pressure on the existing road network.
The construction of the bridge is part of the efforts to accommodate the massive expansion of The Dubai Mall undertaken by Emaar Properties making it the largest shopping and entertainment destination in the world capable of receiving more than 100 million visitors per annum.
Expansion works of the mall include constructing a section for fashion beside the existing mall, which adds 75,000 square metres to the mall area in addition to 25,000 square metres of parking spaces.
