Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing

Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Crossing is a 1.6km arch-type bridge that will be constructed in Dubai. The project includes the construction of roads and intersections, 12 passenger lanes and a dual rail track for the Dubai Metro’s Green Line.

The bridge will link Business Bay Crossing and Al Jaddaf at Bur Dubai, with the road separating Dubai Festival City and The Lagoons. The bridge also provides entry and exit points for Creek Island, which will house an opera building.

At Bur Dubai, the project serves Dubai Healthcare City, Sama Al-Jadaf, and Culture Village, whereas at Deira it serves Dubai Festival City, The Lagoons, International City, and the Dubai Design Centre.

The bridge will be constructed and maintained by the Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai. The contractors are yet to be chosen because the project has been kept on hold in light of the global financial downturn. Construction is expected to be completed in 2015.

Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing

The project is divided into six phases. The construction of the bridge will be completed in the first phase. The bridge will have a capacity for 20,000 vehicles and 23,000 passengers an hour along with the metro rail.

The second phase involves construction of intersections on the Deira side to serve The Lagoon and Dubai Festival City. The third phase consists of constucting the intersections on the Deira side, extending from Nad Al Hammer up to Al Aweer Rd.

Phase four will see construction of intersections at Bur Dubai linking the Sixth Crossing with Ras Al Khor or Business Bay Crossing.

The fifth phase comprises construction of the intersections at Bur Dubai linking the crossing with Sheikh Rashid and Al Garhoud Bridge. Intersections at Bur Dubai linking Ras Al Khor with Oud Maitha road and parallel roads will be built in the sixth phase.

Planning and design of 1.6km arch-type Dubai bridge

Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Crossing is 1.6km long, 64m wide and 15m above water level. The navigation corridor is 50m wide, allowing large yachts to navigate smoothly.

US architectural planning and design firm FxFowle designed the bridge. The design is a simple arch, 667m long and 190m high, making it the largest spanning arch bridge in the world.

The bridge’s east span will be 1,246ft while the west span will be 2,000ft.

The crossing includes 12 lines (six in each direction), two lanes for the Dubai Metro Rail as well as a sustainable transportation station and walkways for pedestrians.

There are a few projects which are going to be executed in the future including The Dubai Opera House, a ferry terminal and an amphitheatre. These are designed to be located at the centre of the bridge.

Construction of Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Crossing

Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai, is handling the project. The project was announced in January 2008 and its design was approved in July 2008.

Construction works involved in the project include an arch bridge, 12km-long road networks, a 3m-wide pedestrian walkway, pillars, arches and associated works.

Construction is expected to be complete in 2015.

Financing of Dubai arch bridge

The total cost of this project is estimated at approximately $817m (AED 3.0b). The UAE Government is financing the project while it is being maintained by the Dubai RTA.

Contractors and consultants

The invitation to bid for the construction contract of the first phase was supposed to be have been issued in the first quarter of 2009. As of September 2009, the project is on hold and no one has yet been awarded the contract.

FxFowle International is the deign architect of the bridge and Schlaich Bergermann and Partner the structural engineer consultant. Abhay Wadhwa Associates is the architectural lighting design consultant and W Architecture & Landscape Architecture is the landscape design consultant.

FxFowle Architects is the architectural consultant and Parsons International is the project’s engineering consultant.