Dubai’s Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has approved AED1bn ($272m) of road improvement projects in the emirate.

The Parallel Roads Improvement Project in the Godolphin area, which Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) will start in the last quarter of the year, requires about 30 months to complete and will cost about AED900m. The project comprises the building of roads, bridges and tunnels to help ensure a smooth traffic flow on the parallel roads.

The Eastern Parallel Roads Project at Zabeel will cost about AED100m. Work in this project is set to start as early as February 2014 and continue for 210 days. It will link the Business Bay district with the existing Oud Metha Road through the underpasses of the Financial Centre Road and Zabeel 2 Road.

This new road extends 3 kilometres and comprises three lanes in each direction. In the future, it will be linked with the Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing through a bridge passing over Oud Metha Road to link Bur Dubai with The Lagoons, Al-Warqaa, Nad al-Hammar and the International City areas.

In mid-January, the RTA extended the tender closing date for the contract to upgrade an interchange in the Dubai Marina area on Sheikh Zayed Road to 28 January. The previous closing date was 21 January.

The upgraded interchange 5.5 will provide access to the new BluewatersIsland development off the Dubai coast, near to Jumeirah Beach Residences. The main component of the 900-day project involves building a 1.4km-long, 25 metre-wide flyover that will take road traffic from Sheikh Zayed Road onto the Bluewaters Island.

The bridge will also take a new rail link to the island from its terminal station on Sheikh Zayed Road opposite the existing Nakheel Harbour and Tower station. The other parts of the project include building ramps onto the bridge and service roads.

The consultant for the bridge is US-based Parsons International. The RTA is responsible for the delivery and management of the project. Local developer Meraas will provide the funding.