Dubai Bets AED 696 Million on Cutting Junction Delays
Dubai's RTA completes a five-bridge interchange to cut delays and improve access
More than AED 696 million of public capital has gone into rebuilding one of Dubai’s most valuable pieces of road infrastructure, and the return is being measured in minutes. The Road and Transport Authority (RTA), the operator behind the project, expects average delays at the World Trade Centre junction to fall from 12 minutes to 90 seconds, a projected saving of 87.5 per cent. The figure has yet to be independently verified since the final kilometre-long bridge opened on 30 October 2026, but if it holds, the authority argues the spend is justified by the sheer scale of traffic the junction carries.
The project converts the former roundabout, where Sheikh Zayed Road meets streets linking business districts, exhibition halls and established residential neighbourhoods, into a network of five elevated bridges spanning a combined five kilometres, with a signal-controlled intersection below. Two years of redevelopment delivered the assets in stages, allowing users to access parts of the investment ahead of full completion. The first two bridges entered service in December 2025, ahead of their planned January opening. An elevated connection from Sheikh Zayed Road to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street, serving traffic towards Al Karama and Deira, followed in February 2026, with the final stages delivered later in the year.
The last bridge carries traffic from Al Majlis Street towards 2nd December Street. Its two lanes can accommodate approximately 3,000 vehicles per hour, completing a connection between the World Trade Centre side of the junction and routes towards Al Satwa and Jumeirah. Elsewhere in the scheme, two bridges connect Sheikh Rashid Street with 2nd December Street, while another pair links 2nd December Street and Al Majs Street, in opposite directions, to Al Majlis Street. The engineering logic is straightforward: separate multi-directional traffic and bypass ground-level bottlenecks, so some vehicles avoid the intersection entirely.
The outlay reflects the junction’s strategic position in the city’s commercial geography. The roads around the World Trade Centre have long underpinned Dubai’s commercial growth, connecting the landmarks and business centres that have reshaped the city, including Dubai World Trade Centre, the Dubai International Financial Centre and the surrounding districts of Za’abeel, Al Satwa, Al Karama, Al Jafiliya and Al Mankhool. A wrong lane here can send a driver towards a very different part of the city, and a queue can hold up journeys well beyond the intersection itself. Few places make the relationship between infrastructure and economic activity as visible: the World Trade Centre tower opened in 1979, and nearby One Za’abeel adds another instantly recognisable silhouette to the skyline.
According to Mattar Al Tayer, director general and chairman of the RTA’s board of executive directors, speaking in the authority’s completion announcement, “These improvements will facilitate access to key destinations and benefit more than 500,000 residents and tourists.”
Meanwhile, the redevelopment fits into a wider capital programme for the district. The connected Al Mustaqbal Street Development Project, scheduled for completion in 2027, includes widening the street from three to four lanes in each direction, alongside bridge and tunnel works. Taken together, the investments signal a sustained commitment to upgrading road capacity around one of the city’s busiest commercial corridors.
There is a design dimension to the spending as well. During a visit to the Trade Centre project in November 2025, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed approved an architectural identity framework covering bridges, lighting, canopies and street furniture. The initiative seeks greater visual coherence across the city’s roads while responding to the character of different districts, dividing Dubai into six types of urban zones. Historical and artistic areas draw on local ornamentation, while residential districts favour warm colours and materials inspired by the local environment. The RTA’s announcement does not specify which treatments have been applied to the Trade Centre bridges.
From ground level, drivers now encounter flyovers passing overhead and routes branching towards different neighbourhoods in place of the original oval layout. The roundabout’s name may remain familiar, but its physical form has changed entirely. For the authority, the clearest test of the AED 696 million will be an everyday one: whether the promised 90-second waits materialise, and how easily people move through the new interchange.
Q&A
What return does the RTA project on the AED 696 million junction investment?
The Road and Transport Authority expects average delays at the World Trade Centre junction to fall from 12 minutes to 90 seconds, an 87.5 per cent saving, though the figure has not been independently verified since the final bridge opened.
How much traffic can the final bridge handle?
The two final lanes can accommodate approximately 3,000 vehicles per hour, completing a connection between the World Trade Centre side of the junction and routes towards Al Satwa and Jumeirah.
How was the project phased during construction?
The first two bridges entered service in December 2025, ahead of their planned January opening; an elevated connection from Sheikh Zayed Road to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street followed in February 2026, with the final stages delivered later in the year.
What else is planned for the district under the wider capital programme?
Scheduled for completion in 2027, it includes widening Al Mustaqbal Street from three to four lanes in each direction, alongside bridge and tunnel works, signalling sustained commitment to road capacity around the commercial corridor.