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RTA opens bridge connecting DWTC to Al-Mustaqbal Street

18 August 2026

Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has opened a new 500-metre, two-lane bridge connecting traffic from Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and One Central to Al-Mustaqbal Street.

The bridge will reduce travel time from DWTC to Al-Mustaqbal Street from around 10 minutes to about two minutes during major events.

The bridge is part of the $172m Al-Mustaqbal Street Development Project. The wider scheme includes around 2,000 metres of bridges and tunnels, along with a pedestrian bridge on Al-Sukook Street, and runs from Zaabeel Palace Street to Financial Centre Street.

As part of the project, Al-Mustaqbal Street will be widened from three to four lanes in each direction, increasing overall capacity by 33% to 8,800 vehicles per hour in both directions.

The RTA added that this is expected to cut end-to-end travel time along the corridor from 13 minutes to six minutes.

Three tunnels, totalling 1,500 metres, at the intersection of Al-Mustaqbal Street and Trade Centre Street are scheduled to open in February 2027.

These include a three-lane tunnel towards Deira with a capacity of 4,500 vehicles per hour, a two-lane tunnel for left-turn movements between the two streets, and a one-lane tunnel serving One Central.

The RTA said that the overall project completion rate has reached 85%.

In February last year, MEED exclusively reported that the RTA had selected local firm Wade Adams to undertake improvement works on Al-Mustaqbal Street.

Planning for growth

The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan was launched in March 2021. Its launch referenced studies indicating that the emirate’s population will reach 5.8 million by 2040, up from 3.3 million in 2020. The daytime population is set to increase from 4.5 million in 2020 to 7.8 million in 2040.

In December 2022, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the 20-Minute City Policy as part of the second phase of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. 

In addition to the road projects, the RTA’s Dubai Metro Blue Line extension and Dubai Metro Gold Line form part of Dubai’s plans to improve residents’ quality of life by cutting journey times, as outlined in the policy.

The policy aims for residents to have 80% of their daily requirements within a 20-minute journey, on foot or by bicycle. This goal will be achieved by developing integrated service centres with all necessary facilities and increasing population density around mass transit stations.

READ THE AUGUST 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the August 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

> MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb fortunes diverge
To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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Yasir Iqbal

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