Al Tayer: The 13 lanes of BB Crossing opens on 1st May

H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Board Chairman & Executive Officer of Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) announced that, "The Business Bay Crossing shall be fully opened for traffic as of May 1st and the number of lanes in the Bridge will rise from the existing 4 to 13 lanes".

He was accompanied during the tour by Engineer Maitha bin Udai; CEO of Traffic & Roads Agency, Engineer Nabeel Mohammed Salih; Director of Roads Department, Engineer Badr Al Sayree; Director of Traffic Department, Engineer Hussain Al Banna; Director of Right of Way Department and a number of consultant engineers.

Al Tayer set off his inspection tour, which stems out of his keen attention to closely monitor the work progress and achievement rates in the various projects currently implemented by RTA, by inspecting the site of the Floating Bridge. It was revealed that work is progressing in this project according to schedule and the achievement rate reached around 50% and the bridge is expected to be opened in June 2007.

H.E. was briefed by the engineer supervising the project on the work progress in the bridge which lies just half a kilometer to the south of Al Maktoum Bridge. It extends from the superficial interchange besides City Center and Dubai Golf Club (Deira) and ends up at the interchange to be constructed on Al Riyadh Road between Dubai Courts and the Creek Park.

The cost of the Floating Bridge project, which is viewed as an express solution to ease traffic jams, is AED155 millions. The bridge consists of three lanes in each direction and provides an extra link between Khalid bin Al Waleed Road & Oud Maitha on the one hand and Al Ittihad Road & Deira area on the other.

Al Tayer stressed the importance of completing the project on time due to its vitality in alleviating the traffic congestion on the crossings that link the two sides of the Creek. He pointed that the capacity of the Floating Bridge will be around 5 - 6 thousand vehicles in each direction during the morning & evening peak hours. He directed the Traffic Dep't to expedite completion of the signals directing and leading to the Floating Bridge on various roads.

H.E. Al Tayer was also briefed on a host of issues that included the roads leading to the entry points of the bridge, improvements currently underway in Bani Yas Road (Deira) and Al Riyadh Road (Bur Dubai), improvements in the current junctions, construction of a pedestrian tunnel and landscaping of the area.

Al Tayer then boarded a boat to inspect the elements of the bridge that had been fixed in the Creek, which are hollowed concrete blocks that can float on water, measuring 6 meters in width and 20 meters in length. The movable part of the bridge allows for opening and closing the bridge within 20 minutes. The opening and closing times of the bridge will be fixed in coordination with the authorities regulating ships and abras movement on Dubai Creek so as to allow ships to navigate on the Creek.

H.E. was briefed as well on the progress of Al Garhoud Bridge project, which reached a completion rate of around 55%. The project, which costs AED415 million, comprises of construction of two new bridges consisting of seven lanes for the traffic from Bur Dubai to Deira and six lanes, subject to increase to seven, for the traffic from Deira to Bur Dubai. The two bridges will rise 15 meters above the central part of the bridge in a way allowing free navigation and accordingly negate the need for providing the bridge with a movable part for opening and closing. Al Tayer directed to prepare innovative designs for landscaping, greenery and interlock works.

H.E. the Board Chairman and CEO of the RTA viewed the latest developments on the Business Bay Crossing, where works reached concluding stages. "The crossing will be fully opened for traffic on the first of May 2007" Al Tayer announced. He further added, "The crossing will considerably contribute to easing the congestion on the crossings linking the two banks of Dubai Creek. It constitutes an alternative new axis for Emirates Road starting from Beirut Tunnel up to Defence Interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road. The bridge is capable of providing a free movement on all junctions and as such contributing to alleviating the traffic bottleneck on Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Rashid Roads".

He further stated that the Business Bay Crossing, which consists of 13 lanes 7 towards Deira and 6 towards Bur Dubai, has a capacity to serve 26000 vehicles per hour; 12000 vehicles towards Bur Dubai and 14000 vehicles towards Deira. Al Tayer directed to study the traffic coming from Bur Dubai towards Al Garhoud area and reviewing the possibility of adding some improvements to serve the traffic in the area.

The tour of Al Tayer also included inspecting the work progress in Al Khor Crossing in Zabeel area, Phase III(A); which is considered an integral part of Ras Al Khor Bridge Project. It is situated in Bur Dubai side and links the Business Bay Crossing with the other part of bridge project leading to Al Khail Road. It consists of five flyovers, development works and multi-levels interchange in Oud Maitha & 2nd Zabeel Roads. It also includes installation of directional signals, protective works, services diversion, lighting works and landscaping.

H.E. the Chairman of the Board and CEO of RTA expressed his pleasure for the work progress on the giant project; which plays an integral role in supplementing the road projects currently implemented by the RTA to ease the traffic bottlenecks in a way ensuring traffic flow on the roads of the Emirate.