Dubai Opens Two Trade Centre Bridges, Cutting Commute Times to Two Minutes
Dubai unveils new bridges, reducing travel time at Trade Centre Roundabout to just two minutes.
Dubai has opened two new bridges as part of the Trade Centre Roundabout Development Project, significantly reducing travel time through one of the city’s busiest intersections from 10 minutes to just two minutes.
The newly opened bridges serve traffic moving from 2nd December Street towards Sheikh Rashid Road and Al Majlis Street, offering smoother connectivity to key routes including Al Mustaqbal Street and Zabeel Palace Street. The improvement is expected to substantially ease congestion at the Trade Centre Roundabout.
Each bridge features two lanes in both directions, with a combined length of 2,000 metres and a total capacity of approximately 6,000 vehicles per hour. Motorists can now reach Al Majlis Street, Al Mustaqbal Street, and Zabeel Palace Street from 2nd December Street in just two minutes.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) confirmed that the bridges were opened ahead of their originally scheduled mid-January launch, marking a key milestone in the wider infrastructure upgrade.
The Trade Centre Roundabout is a major traffic hub in Dubai, linking Sheikh Zayed Road with five vital roads: Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street, Sheikh Rashid Road, 2nd December Street, Zabeel Palace Street, and Al Majlis Street. The development aims to improve traffic flow and reduce delays across this critical junction.
According to Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, work on the project is progressing faster than planned. “Work on the project is progressing at a pace faster than the approved schedule,” he said. “Overall project completion has reached nearly 50 percent and will initiate a phased opening.”
He added: “In addition to the two bridges already opened to traffic, March will mark the opening of the bridge linking Sheikh Zayed Road to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street. Two further bridges are set to open in October 2026, serving traffic movement from Sheikh Rashid Road and Al Majlis Street towards 2nd December Street.”
Once fully completed, the project is expected to reduce average delays at the intersection from 12 minutes to just 90 seconds. Journey times for traffic heading from Sheikh Zayed Road to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street will also drop from six minutes to one minute.
As part of the project, a second-level bridge measuring 1,000 metres in length is under construction, extending from Sheikh Zayed Road to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street towards Deira. The bridge will have two lanes and is designed to handle up to 3,000 vehicles per hour.
The wider development will benefit major commercial and residential areas, including Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Zabeel, Al Satwa, Al Karama, Al Jafiliya, and Al Mankhool. More than 500,000 residents and visitors are expected to benefit from the improved traffic flow.
The Trade Centre project is part of a broader master plan that also includes upgrades to Al Mustaqbal Street, stretching from Zabeel Palace Street to Financial Centre Street. Scheduled for completion in 2027, the plan includes new bridges and tunnels with a combined length of 1,500 metres and the widening of Al Mustaqbal Street from three to four lanes in each direction.
These upgrades will increase road capacity from 9,000 to 12,000 vehicles per hour and reduce journey times from eight minutes to approximately three minutes and 30 seconds, further supporting Dubai’s long-term mobility and urban development goals.