Dubai’s 1.65km-long Al Khaleej Street Tunnel opened to traffic yesterday.
The tunnel extends from the end of the Infinity Bridge ramp in Deira to the intersection of Al Khaleej Street and Al Wuheida Street and has three lanes in each direction. It has a capacity of 12,000 vehicles per hour.
The tunnel is an integral part of the 13km Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project, one of the largest projects currently undertaken by Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA). The new link will serve several key residential communities and development projects, such as Dubai Islands, Waterfront Market, Dubai Maritime City and Port Rashid and is expected to reduce journey time from 104 minutes to 16 minutes. It is scheduled to open by 2030.
Under the Dubai Tunnels initiative, Al Khaleej Street Tunnel has been finished with a mosaic mural depicting the Dubai skyline, designed by Emirati artist Maryam Hathboor. A total of 35 million mosaic pieces were used to create the installation.
Tunnel construction generated 522,000m3 spoil – approximately 77% of which is being reused on other projects in Dubai.
