Dubai’s New Bridges and What They Connect

From One Central, a new road bridge takes drivers towards Al Mustaqbal Street. Beside Hessa Street, a different pair of bridges is designed to carry walkers and riders across two of Dubai’s widest roads. At Dubai Harbour, the contractor has confirmed direct vehicle entry from Sheikh Zayed Road, while the authority’s earlier schedule describes separate movements for traffic leaving the waterfront. Each bridge solves a different problem, and an opening can apply to one direction or one part of a longer route.

To see which crossing helps your trip, start with the two ends, then check who can use it and what has opened. A completed span across a highway is useful only if you can reach its entrance and continue from the far side. A bridge planned for both drivers and walkers can also have different access arrangements on its road deck and its path.

One Central to Al Mustaqbal Street: a confirmed road connection

RTA opened a 500-metre, two-lane bridge on 14 August 2026. It takes traffic from Dubai World Trade Centre and One Central towards the intersection of Al Mustaqbal Street and Za’abeel Palace Street. This is an outbound connection from the event and office district. It belongs to the Al Mustaqbal Street Development Project. The separate bridge from Al Majlis Street towards 2nd December Street is part of the Trade Centre Roundabout project. RTA August notice. RTA opening confirmation.

If you are picking someone up at One Central, first find the entrance you will use to reach them. The bridge becomes relevant after pickup if the next part of your trip heads towards Al Mustaqbal Street. If you are arriving for an exhibition, use the approach for the car park or drop-off named by the event. “Trade Centre bridge” is too broad to tell you which side of the complex you will reach. It also helps to distinguish the name of the road junction from the entrance of the building you need.

Sheikh Rashid Street and Al Mina Street: footbridges with lifts

RTA’s pedestrian bridge programme identifies two completed structures as part of the Al Shindagha Corridor works. The one over Sheikh Rashid Street measures 91 metres and the one over Al Mina Street measures 109 metres. Both have stairs and lifts. Their purpose is to let people cross the roads on foot. They are separate structures from the bridges that move traffic through the surrounding interchanges. RTA pedestrian bridge programme.

For a trip that depends on step-free access, check the route to the lift entrance and from the lift on the other side. The bridge’s length describes the span, while the total walk includes the approach, vertical travel and the onward pavement. If you are meeting someone across the road, share the entrance or landmark on the side you mean. The road name alone cannot tell them which end to wait at.

Hessa Street: two crossings on one walking and cycling route

The Hessa Street design puts a 528-metre crossing above Sheikh Zayed Road and a 501-metre crossing above Al Khail Road. Both are five metres wide, with three metres allocated to bicycles and e-scooters and two metres to walking. They are part of the planned 13.5-kilometre route between Al Sufouh and Dubai Hills. If a trip crosses both highways, check the connecting sections as well as the bridges. RTA Hessa multi-use route record.

RTA’s March 2026 cycling update described the Hessa route as under development. In June, RTA reported that construction of both bridges was complete. That milestone concerns the crossings themselves. Dubai Cycle Lanes reported using both bridges on 28 August, with a gap in the connecting track at the time of its ride. That observation is useful for understanding what had become usable by August. For an end-to-end trip, follow the signed path and check the approaches you intend to use. A ride that ends at Dubai Internet City has a different last leg from one continuing inland to Dubai Hills. RTA March cycling update. RTA June completion update. Dubai Cycle Lanes field report.

Sheikh Zayed Road to Dubai Harbour: direct inbound access

The Dubai Harbour bridge starts near Interchange 5 on Sheikh Zayed Road by the American University in Dubai. RTA describes a 1.5-kilometre alignment via the Al Naseem Street and Al Falak Street junction, crossing over King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street and reaching Dubai Harbour Street. The bridge has two lanes in each direction in the project design. In its 29 June 2026 update, the contractor confirmed direct entry to Dubai Harbour from Sheikh Zayed Road for motorists approaching from either Jebel Ali or Deira. RTA Dubai Harbour project record. Contractor opening confirmation.

Plan the way out separately. RTA’s June progress notice described later stages from Dubai Harbour towards Al Naseem Street and from the new bridge towards the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street junction. The contractor’s opening announcement confirms inbound access. The later outbound and local movements were not separately confirmed in the reviewed notices. For a visit, use the actual waterfront destination or car park and check the signed exit for the road you need when you leave. RTA staged Harbour update.

Al Manara Street: a shorter span with longer approaches

RTA’s June update names the bridge at Al Manara Street in Al Quoz Creative Zone as a third completed walking and cycling crossing. The authority’s earlier design notice gives the span as 45 metres and describes two access ramps, each 210 metres long. This is an example of how the distance across a road differs from the distance involved in using a crossing. The ramps extend the approach on either side so riders and walkers can reach the bridge deck without climbing stairs. The completed bridge is intended to support movement within the creative district and to nearby destinations.

For a trip within Al Quoz, first check where the ramp begins relative to your destination. A venue can appear directly opposite on the map while the entrance to the crossing is farther along the street. A rider continuing through the district needs to account for that approach as part of the route. A person arriving on foot may also want to check the pavement from the far end to the building. These checks matter more for a local errand than the overall distance covered by a citywide cycling route.

Dubai Islands from Bur Dubai: a future crossing for two kinds of trip

The awarded bridge from the Bur Dubai side to Dubai Islands is planned across the creek between Infinity Bridge and Port Rashid. RTA’s April 2025 award gives a length of 1,425 metres and four road lanes in each direction. A dedicated path is planned for walkers and cyclists, with two lifts to help users reach it. The bridge thus has two purposes. Drivers would gain a direct route to and from the islands on the Bur Dubai side. People on foot or on bicycles would gain a new connection across the water with its own access arrangements. RTA Dubai Islands contract announcement.

RTA discussed the bridge in a May 2026 update that also covered the Al Khaleej Street Tunnel. The 80% milestone in that headline applies to the tunnel. It gives no opening date for the island bridge or its path. If you are driving to Dubai Islands now, use the current signed approach and check the return route separately. If you are planning a future walk or ride across the new bridge, look for an opening notice that specifies where the path begins on each shore. The point where a car enters the bridge may be different from the point where a pedestrian or cyclist can join it. RTA May works update.

Two more crossings to watch

RTA’s pedestrian programme identifies a bridge over Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road at Tunis Street and Al Nahda, intended to link Muhaisnah 1 with Al Twar and connect into the route towards Al Mamzar Beach. It also describes a crossing of Dubai–Al Ain Road between Liwan, in Wadi Al Safa 4, and Nadd Hessa. The earlier construction notice gives lengths of 554 metres and 730 metres respectively. The figures help identify the two projects, especially if an announcement refers only to a bridge by its highway name. The earlier schedule by itself does not establish public access at either location.

The distinction is practical on both corridors. If you are riding towards Al Mamzar, the relevant connection is the one between Muhaisnah and Al Twar. If you are coming from Liwan, look for the connection towards Nadd Hessa on the Dubai–Al Ain Road corridor. Neither crossing tells you whether the path between your starting address and the ramp is continuous. Before making the crossing part of a regular commute, check the access point on both sides and how it joins the signed cycling or walking route. If you see a completion announcement, check which end of the bridge it describes and whether the notice names the mode you plan to use.

Which bridge fits the trip?

If a journey combines modes, compare the handover points. For example, someone riding towards Dubai Internet City needs to know where the Hessa path meets the approach to the station. Someone getting out of a car on the far side of Sheikh Rashid Street needs to know where the footbridge starts. An interchange designed for drivers can carry them over the same road that a walker needs to cross, yet the two users will start from different points. Put the walking or cycling entrance into the route where you can identify it. If you need the lift, save the entrance on the return side as well.

If a crossing is new, also check whether the source says that the bridge was built or that a named movement opened. The first establishes a construction milestone. The second tells you which trip you can make. In Dubai Harbour, the contractor identified the approach from Sheikh Zayed Road. On Hessa Street, the authority confirmed the two structures, while the connecting path has its own status. At a footbridge with lifts, a construction notice can establish the facilities without establishing their live condition. Use the newest project information alongside the signs at the approach. Sources checked 6 November 2026.