RTA opens 1,650-metre Al Khaleej Street Tunnel linking Infinity Bridge with Deira and Al Mamzar
By Catherine Smith GST 2 min read
Dubai's RTA opened the three-lane-each-way Al Khaleej Street Tunnel on Sunday, November 8, with capacity for 12,000 vehicles an hour towards Deira.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) opened the 1,650-metre Al Khaleej Street Tunnel on Sunday, November 8, giving drivers between Infinity Bridge, Deira and Al Mamzar a free-flowing route with three lanes in each direction.
The tunnel runs from the end of the Infinity Bridge ramp in Deira to the intersection of Al Khaleej Street and Al Wuheida Street, the authority said.
Its combined capacity is 12,000 vehicles per hour. It is part of the Al Shindagha Corridor Development Project.
The tunnel carries traffic from Infinity Bridge towards Deira and Al Mamzar, and in the opposite direction.
The works also include signal-controlled intersections on Cairo Street and Al Wuheida Street. Earlier plans described these as roundabouts being converted into signalised junctions, along with upgrades along Cairo Street.
The project also connects the ramp from Dubai Islands to the new tunnel on Al Khaleej Street towards Al Mamzar, according to the RTA’s May update. That update said the project serves Abu Hail, Al Wuheida and Al Mamzar.
Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, said the tunnel is an integral part of the corridor.
The corridor extends 13 km and is estimated to serve about one million people across developments including Dubai Islands, Dubai Maritime City and Port Rashid.
Al Tayer said completing the corridor improvements will cut journey time from 1 hour 44 minutes to 16 minutes by 2030. The target is the same 104 minutes to 16 minutes the authority gave in May 2025 and May 2026.
In May 2025, the authority said the corridor’s capacity would rise from 6,400 to 24,000 vehicles per hour once completed.
The tunnel was about 30% complete in May 2025. By May 2026 it was 80% complete, with 14 teams working around the clock on excavation support and completion scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.
At opening, the RTA reported nearly 11 million work hours with no injuries. A total of 2,200 engineers, technicians and workers took part, supported by 350 pieces of equipment and machinery.
About 77 per cent of the excavated material, estimated at 522,000 cubic metres, has been reused in other projects.
The RTA finished Al Shindagha Corridor works in Bur Dubai in 2025. It is now building a 1,425-metre bridge connecting Dubai Islands with Bur Dubai.
The bridge will have a combined capacity of 16,000 vehicles per hour. It will allow vessels to pass through Dubai Creek and include a dedicated pedestrian and cycling track.
In May, the authority said the bridge will have four lanes in each direction and rise 18.5 metres above the Creek, with a 75-metre-wide navigational channel.
Two lifts will serve the pedestrian and cycling track. About 2,000 metres of at-grade roads will link the bridge to the existing network on both sides.
Under the Dubai Tunnels initiative, the tunnel carries an artwork of Dubai’s skyline in a style inspired by banknote illustrations. The RTA said it uses 35 million mosaic pieces and was designed by artist Maryam Al Hathboor.
