The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the conclusion of half of the Garn Al Sabkha-Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed (Sh MBZ) Roads Intersection Improvement Project.

The project includes the construction of four bridges totalling 2,874m in length, with a total traffic capacity of 17,600 vehicles an hour.

The contractor has now finished developing the bridges' foundations and columns and has begun work on casting bridge walls, installing iron supports, widening roadways, lighting works, and rainfall drainage networks.

According to the RTA's board of executive directors' chair and director general Mattar Al Tayer, the project will ensure traffic flows smoothly between Sheikh Zayed Road, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, First Al Khail Street, and Al Asayel Street.

Al Tayer said: “Once opened, the project will cut down the distance and the journey time by 40% for traffic heading from Garn Al Sabkha Street to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road towards Al Qusais and Sharjah.

“It will slash the peak [traffic] hour journey times from 20 minutes to just 12 minutes. It will also diminish the journey time by 70% from 21 minutes to seven minutes for traffic going from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road right to Al Yalayis Road towards Jebel Ali Port.”

Spanning 943m, the first two-lane bridge will be built at the intersection of Garn Al Sabkha Street and Al Asayel Street and will accommodate 8,000 vehicles per hour in both directions.

The 601m second two-lane bridge will have a capacity of 3,200 vehicles per hour.

Stretching 664m, the third bridge features two lanes and is also set to accommodate approximately 3,200 vehicles an hour.

The 666m fourth bridge will comprise two lanes and will have a capacity of nearly 3,200 vehicles per hour.