The second half of the Shaikh Zayed Road flyover opened for traffic on Friday morning.

The 16-lane flyover bridge, which is part of the Dubai Water Canal project, has been under construction since November 2014.

In January this year, the Roads and Transportation Authority (RTA) had opened the first part of the flyover — Sharjah-bound — for traffic.

On Friday, the other six lanes of the Abu Dhabi-bound bridge were opened, while two more lanes are expected to open mid-July.

The 800-metre-long flyover, located near Interchange two on Shaikh Zayed Road, rises up to 8.5 metres, allowing yachts and boats to operate underneath.

The opening of the flyover fully will allow for the remaining canal drilling work underneath.

Once ready, the 16-lane flyover will take motorists eight metres over Dubai Canal, a man-made waterway that will cut across Shaikh Zayed Road, Al Wasl Road and Jumeirah Road before emptying into the sea.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, had said in a previous statement that, “by opening the southern bridge, RTA has effectively completed all works listed under Phase 1 of the Dubai Water Canal project”.

Phase 1 included construction of an 800-metre-long flyover on the Shaikh Zayed Road comprising eight lanes in each direction, building a traffic diversion on Shaikh Zayed Road to allow for the construction of the flyover, besides shifting the utility lines in the vicinity.

“This bridge is characterised by a unique design with waterfalls flowing from the top, and smart lighting fixtures controlled via a dedicated app supported by a database for tracking the lighting condition, and sharing information and operational commands. A full coverage is provided all over the place enabling RTA to interact with the social media through 3G technology,” Al Tayer had said.

In June, the RTA opened Al Wasl Road flyover comprising three lanes in the direction of Dubai and two lanes in the direction of Abu Dhabi in addition to two lanes for serving the traffic coming from Al Wasl Road heading to Al Athaar Road.

He added: “Once the three flyovers crossing the canal are open, the contractor of Phase III will complete the canal digging works underneath the flyovers, besides building quay walls of the canal, constructing three footbridges linking the two banks of the canal at distinctive locations, and setting up 10 marine transit stations.”

Work will also include landfilling to build an artificial peninsula along the Jumeirah Park that will double the beach line of the park, increase the park area, and make a room for more leisure activities.

Source: gulfnews.com