Habtoor Leighton Group is believed to be the low bidder for the access bridge to the Bluewaters Island development, close to Dubai’s Marina area.

The island is being funded and developed by Meraas, although the client for the road bridge, which runs from Sheikh Zayed Road, is Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

In January, the RTA extended the tender deadline for the bridge to today (28 January). A price was not given for the bid.

The project to upgrade interchange 5.5 is expected to take 900-days to complete. It 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 carry a new rail link onto 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.

Plans for the Bluewaters Island scheme 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.