Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has 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 Bluewaters Island development off the Dubai coast, near to Jumeirah Beach Residences. The main component of the 900-day project involves building a 1.4 kilometre-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.

Meraas is also the developer of the Bluewaters Island scheme. The project includes the AED1bn ($272m) Dubai Eye, which will be the world’s largest ferris wheel. Other components of the project involve building retail, residential, hospitality and entertainment zones.