Urgent | Extending the closure of the floating bridge in Dubai to conduct technical tests
For technical testing purposes, the Roads and Transport Authority of the United Arab Emirates has announced that the floating bridge connecting Deira and Bur Dubai would be closed until further notice.
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The Dubai Floating Bridge will be closed till further notice on April 17 due to maintenance, as notified by the Roads and Transport Authority.
The Roads and Transport Authority had said in April that the Dubai Floating Bridge will reopen on May 22; however, the bridge later came back and confirmed the need to run first technical testing, thus it was opened and put back into service.
Extending the closure of the floating bridge in Dubai
The Roads and Transport Authority announced on Saturday that the closure of the floating bridge has been prolonged in both directions until further notice.
Drivers have been urged to continue taking detours around congested areas.
The Roads and Transport Authority asked drivers to avoid congestion on major thoroughfares such Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road by taking secondary routes including Al Maktoum Bridge, Infinity Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge, and the Mamzar exit from Al Ittihad Street.
The floating bridge connecting Deira and Bur Dubai has been operational for 16 years.
There are a total of six bridges that cross Dubai Creek, including this one on the water.
The Floating Bridge closure has been extended in both directions until further notice, to carry out technical tests and ensure the efficiency of the maintenance work on the bridge. pic.twitter.com/fMaYs8Xc9s
— RTA (@rta_dubai) May 20, 2023
Dubai's Floating Bridge
hen the bridge is operational, the 10-minute operation each night raises the span at 10pm to let ships through the creek and lowers it at 6am to let cars and trucks over the river.
It spans the entire creek with two separate bridge structures, one for each direction of traffic.
Every morning and night, a steel hydraulic swing gate opens and shuts between two concrete pillars measuring 115 metres in length.
The six-lane bridge can accommodate thousands of vehicles per hour, with as many as 6,000 using it during rush hours.