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DUBAI – The bridges linking roads to the Rashidiya Metro Station parking lot, built at a cost of nearly Dh700 million, will open on September 9 as part of the Dubai Metro launch, according to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
In a statement on Saturday, Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the board and executive director ofRTA, said the project included the construction of ramps at the intersection of Emirates and Khawaneej roads, in addition to two bridges at Khawaneej Road.
The bridges will ease traffic flow into the station’s parking lot which can accommodate 2,714 vehicles. “This project has been undertaken as part of RTA drive to upgrade key roads network in the emirate and link them with the parking lots attached to Metro stations,” Al Tayer said.
“Rashidiya Station is a key station as it is the starting point of Dubai Metro Red Line,” he said.
“The station is 130 metres long and 30 metres wide and has a capacity to handle 11,000 passengers per hour per direction. The station has two entry points equipped with escalators and lifts to ensure smooth passenger traffic in and out of the station, along with a parking lot to accommodate 2,714 vehicles.”
Al Tayer further stated: “The ground floor of the parking building is designated for feeder buses, and the design of the building has been customized to accommodate articulated and double-decker buses. The building is also linked with a footbridge linking the other side of the road with the Metro station such that it won’t take more than three minutes to walk from the farthest parking slot to the entry of the station.”
The RTA chief said such projects were part of the authority’s aim to upgrade mass transit modes and encourage their uses to increase the percentage of public transport trips from six per cent to 30 per cent. “More efforts are also needed to raise the public awareness, orient the culture of using mass transportation of the community, and foster integration with multi-modal transport such as public buses, Dubai Metro and marine transport,” said Al Tayer.