Beijing-headquartered China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has started mobilisation works on the recently awarded Oud Metha and Al-Asayel streets development project, which is part of Dubai’s Sheikh Rashid corridor development project.

Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) awarded CCECC the AED600m ($163m) contract in October.

The project connects Al-Asayel Street to Al-Khail Road via Al-Nawras Street and includes an exit to Oud Metha Road and Al-Nawras Road.

US-based engineering firm Aecom is the project consultant.

According to the official statement, the project involves the construction of four major intersections, 4.3 kilometres (km) of bridges and 14km of roads.

The project will serve Zabeel, Al-Jaddaf, Oud Metha, Umm Hurair, Latifa Hospital and Al-Wasl Club.

The project is expected to enhance Oud Metha Street’s capacity from 10,400 to 15,600 vehicles an hour.

The first intersection will be located at the junction of Oud Metha Street and Sheikh Rashid Street and involves adding a left-turn lane for traffic from Oud Metha to Sheikh Rashid Street. Other improvements will be made to the service road on Sheikh Rashid Street between the existing bridge and the exit at Al-Zahrawi Street. The number of right-turn lanes for traffic coming from Sheikh Rashid Street towards Dubai-Al Ain Road will be increased from two to three, raising the capacity to 4,000 vehicles an hour.

The second intersection will be located at the junction of Oud Metha Street with Al-Asayel and Al-Nawras streets and involves the construction of two bridges connecting Al-Asayel Street to Al-Khail Road via Al-Nawras Street.

The first two-lane bridge will accommodate 2,400 vehicles an hour and will serve traffic from Al-Asayel towards Al-Nawras Street. The second bridge will handle traffic from Al-Khail Road towards Al-Asayel Street, featuring three lanes with a capacity of 3,600 vehicles an hour.

The other two-lane bridge, with a capacity of 2,400 vehicles an hour, will facilitate left-turn traffic from Al-Asayel to Oud Metha Street. The road leading to Al-Wasl Club’s entrance and the entrances and exits of Al-Nawras Street will also be upgraded.

The third intersection, located at the junction of Al-Nawras Street and Al-Khail Road, will involve the construction of a two-lane bridge to accommodate traffic from Al-Asayel Street towards Al-Khail Road towards the Business Bay crossing. The bridge will have a capacity of 3,000 vehicles an hour.

Additionally, Al-Nawras Street will be upgraded by increasing the exit capacity towards Al-Khail Road to two lanes. A service road will be constructed on both sides of Al-Nawras Street.

The fourth intersection will be located at the intersection of Zabeel Palace Street with Al-Khail and Oud Metha Street. It will see the addition of another lane on the left-turn ramp for traffic from Al-Khail Road to the Dubai-Al-Ain Road, doubling capacity from 900 to 1,800 vehicles an hour.

A single-lane tunnel with a capacity of 1,200 vehicles an hour will be constructed to serve traffic coming from the Dubai-Al-Ain Road to Al-Nawras Street.

The project also includes increasing the number of lanes on the existing bridge, which currently serves traffic from Al-Khail Road towards Oud Metha Street. The bridge will be expanded from two to three lanes, increasing its capacity from 2,200 to 3,300 vehicles an hour.

Future plans

In November, the RTA outlined plans to improve urban mobility and infrastructure throughout the emirate.

The estimated AED16bn ($4.3bn) 2024-2027 Main Roads Development Plan includes adding 22 projects across Dubai’s road network.

The programme, which is expected to benefit over 6 million people, was reviewed by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, during his official visit to RTA’s headquarters last week.

The development plan includes building new roads and bridges to alleviate traffic congestion in key locations across Dubai.