Travel time along a key Dubai road corridor will be reduced from 20 minutes to just five once the Oud Metha and Al Asayel Streets Development Project is completed, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced.
The project, which is now 90 per cent complete, will also increase the capacity of Oud Metha Street by 50 per cent.
As part of the development, the RTA opened a major three-lane bridge on Sunday, July 26, serving motorists travelling from Al Khail Road towards Al Asayel Street via Al Wasl Club Street.
The bridge can accommodate 3,600 vehicles per hour.
Two tunnels and another bridge are scheduled to open by the end of August, the authority said.
The first tunnel will connect the service road on Oud Metha Street to the Sheikh Rashid Road intersection for motorists heading towards Bur Dubai.
The second will serve traffic travelling from Dubai–Al Ain Road towards Al Wasl Club Street and is expected to ease existing traffic overlaps.
A separate bridge will also open to serve left-turn movements from Al Asayel Street towards Oud Metha Street.
Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, said the project includes the improvement of four major intersections, the construction of bridges and two tunnels with a total length of 4.3km, and roads spanning 14km.
The works are intended to improve traffic flow between Oud Metha Street, Sheikh Rashid Road, Al Asayel Street, Al Khail Road and Dubai–Al Ain Road.
They include additional lanes, new service roads and improvements to several ramps and access points. Once completed, the bridges and tunnels will increase capacity on key approaches, ease traffic overlaps and improve access to Al Wasl Club and surrounding residential and service areas.
The development will support several residential, service and development areas, including Zabeel, Al Jaddaf, Oud Metha and Umm Hurair, as well as Latifa Hospital and Al Wasl Club.
The population of the areas served by the project is expected to exceed 420,000 by 2030.
The project will also reduce travel time by up to 75 per cent.
2 bridges opened earlier this year
In the first quarter of 2026, the RTA opened two other bridges under the project.
The first is located at the intersection of Oud Metha Street with Al Asayel Street and Al Wasl Club Street.
The two-lane bridge can accommodate 2,400 vehicles per hour and serves traffic travelling from Al Asayel Street towards Al Wasl Club Street.
The second bridge is located at the intersection of Al Wasl Club Street with Al Khail Road.
It serves motorists travelling from Al Asayel Street towards Al Khail Road in the direction of Business Bay Crossing.
Source: Khaleej Times