Dubai to build new tunnel between key residential areas

Dubai's new six-lane tunnel will ease traffic flow between key residential areas.

New RTA transport project

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a contract to build the Al Khaleej Street Tunnel, which will run from the end of the Infinity Bridge ramp in Deira to the intersection of Al Khaleej and Cairo Streets. The new 1.6km, six-lane tunnel will be able to handle 12,000 vehicles per hour in both directions.

It will also significantly improve transport links to Abu Hail, Al Wuheida, Al Mamzar, Dubai Islands, Dubai Waterfront, Waterfront Souk and Al Hamriya Port. The project is overseen by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai.

Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority Mattar Al Tayer said: "The tunnel on Al Khaleej Street is part of the Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project, one of the largest projects currently being undertaken by the RTA."

The tunnel will reduce traffic congestion from the Infinity Bridge to Deira and back, convert the intersection of Cairo and Al Wuheida Streets from a roundabout to a signalized intersection, upgrade Cairo Street and connect the Dubai Islands Bridge ramp to the new tunnel on Al Khaleej Street to the north.

The Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project, which stretches 13km along Sheikh Rashid Road, Al Mina Street, Al Khaleej Street, and Cairo Street, includes the upgrading of 15 intersections and impacts numerous residential and development areas, including Dubai Islands, Dubai Waterfront, Dubai Maritime City and Mina Rashid Port.

The corridor serves around one million people and upgrades are expected to reduce travel times from 104 to 16 minutes by 2030.

RTA is currently working on a 4.8-km Sheikh Rashid Street development project. The project involves the construction of three bridges with a total length of 3.1 km, designed to accommodate 19,400 vehicles per hour on all lanes.