Construction work on a new bridge to replace the Floating Bridge in Dubai is set to start by the end of 2014, it has been announced.
The AED1.1bn Al Ittihad Bridge project will take about three years to complete, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was told during a briefing, news agency WAM reported.
The new bridge will replace the current Floating Bridge which will be shifted to the Sheraton crossing, linking the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road in Bur Dubai and Omar ibn Al Khatab Road in Deira, it said.
Mattar Al Tayer, chairman and executive Director of the Roads and transport Authority (RTA) told Sheikh Mohammed that the construction work on the bridge would start in the last quarter of 2014 and is slated to continue for three years.
Al Tayer said the new 61-metre wide and 15-metre high bridge will have 12 lanes in two directions as well as a pedestrian walkway.
The bridge, he added in comments published by WAM, would stretch from the Dubai Greek Park in Bur Dubai to City Centre and Dubai Golf Club in Deira.
"The bridge will facilitate easy vehicular traffic and smooth navigation round the clock," he said, adding that the bridge will have an estimated capacity of 24,000 vehicle per hour.
Sheikh Mohammed was also briefed on the Rashid Hospital Tunnels, part of a mega AED720m tunnel project, which opened to traffic this week.
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