Dubai: Infinity Bridge to open for first time on Sunday

Dubai's Infinity Bridge will open to traffic for the first time on Sunday, January 16.

To facilitate its opening, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) on Friday announced that Al Shindagha Tunnel will be temporarily closed for two months in the direction from Deira to Bur Dubai.

The closure is required to complete the link between the Infinity Bridge and the new bridges with Al Shindagha Tunnel. The traffic will normally flow from Deira to Bur Dubai and vice-a-versa on Infinity Bridge, which can take 24,000 vehicles in both directions each hour.

First announced in 2018, the Infinity Bridge is part of the Dh5.3-billion Al Shindagha Corridor Project. Consisting of six lanes in each direction, the bridge has an arch shaped like the infinity symbol - which symbolises Dubai’s unlimited ambitions.

According to the RTA website, the bridge goes across the creek. It is 300 metres long and 22 metres wide and can accommodate 24,000 vehicles in both directions.

It will slash travel time from 104 minutes to just 16 by 2030. The time saved over 20 years will be worth about Dh45 billion.