By Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter www.gulfnews.com
Dubai: Work on the Dh617 million First Interchange on Shaikh Zayed Road is now fully complete and it has recently been opened to traffic, Gulf News has learnt. The interchange has the capacity to handle more than 16,000 vehicles an hour.
Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) officials have confirmed that the project has been completed and that motorists will now enjoy a free flow of traffic in the area.
Construction on the three-tier interchange on the First Interchange, commonly known among residents as Defence Roundabout, began in the last quarter of 2006, after an Italian company Salini Constructions was given the contract for the project.
The project was initially scheduled to be opened in 2009. But changes were made to the initial blue print and the project completion was moved further. Authorities then completed the project in phases and opened parts of the project to traffic, as they were completed. It is now that the entire project has been completed.
The project includes traverse bridges across Shaikh Zayed Road, providing freeway in both directions from Al Safa Road to Financial Centre Road, ensuring a seamless traffic flow from Al Safa Road towards Dubai. These bridges were opened in 2010.
Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA, said back then that the key bridges and roads of the project are one of the most important and sophisticated projects undertaken by the RTA. More info
