Dubai motorists awaiting relief from the traffic can look forward to the first phase of the World Trade Centre Roundabout opening as soon as January 2026.

The two bridges will serve traffic from 2nd December Street towards Al Majlis Street and Sheikh Rashid Street, as the improvement project reaches 40 per cent completion.

The roundabout links Sheikh Zayed Road with five key arterial streets: Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street, Sheikh Rashid Street, 2nd December Street, Zabeel Palace Street, and Al Majlis Street.

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Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum reviewed the progress of the project. Here's what the timeline will look like:

• March 2026: Bridge connecting Sheikh Zayed Road to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street is scheduled to open

• October 2026: Two additional bridges serving traffic from Sheikh Rashid Street and Al Majlis Street towards 2nd December Street

The iconic DWTC roundabout is set to be converted to a surface-level intersection to improve traffic, and five bridges spanning 5,000 metres will be constructed.

Upon completion, the project will double the junction's capacity, cut average delays from 12 minutes to just 90 seconds, and reduce travel time from Sheikh Zayed Road to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street from six minutes to one.

Sheikh Hamdan, who also serves as UAE's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, also looked at the Al Mustaqbal Street improvement project.

Scheduled for completion in 2027, the project will widen the street from three to four lanes in each direction, boosting capacity from 6,600 to 8,800 vehicles per hour, while reducing travel time from 13 minutes to just six minutes.

Extending from the intersection with Zabeel Palace Street to Financial Centre Street, the project includes the construction of three tunnels totalling 1,100 metres at the intersection of Al Mustaqbal Street and Trade Centre Street, in addition to a 400-metre two-lane bridge serving traffic from Dubai World Trade Centre towards the intersection of Zabeel Palace Street and Al Mustaqbal Street.

It also entails widening Al Mustaqbal Street from its intersection with Financial Centre Street to Zabeel Palace Street over 3,500 metres, increasing the number of lanes from three to four in each direction.

The project also features free-flow connections to improve traffic movement at the intersections of Al Mustaqbal Street with both Exhibition Street and Trade Centre Street, the construction of a pedestrian bridge on Sukuk Street, and upgrades to existing junctions along the corridor.

Together, these two projects entail the construction of seven bridges and three tunnels spanning 6,500 metres, costing Dh1.3 billion.

Serving seven key residential and development areas - including Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Emirates Towers, Museum of the Future, and Downtown Dubai - the projects are expected to benefit over one million residents and visitors and reduce travel time by 75 per cent.

Dubai's road and transport network extends over 25,000 lane-kilometres and serves more than 3.5 million vehicles daily, said Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

The authority constructs an average of 829 lane-kilometres of roads each year, more than double the global average of around 400 lane-kilometres. The cost efficiency per kilometre in constructing highways and metro lines is 1.5 to 2.5 times greater than in major cities such as Moscow, Shenzhen, and Milan, Al Tayer said.

Road and transport projects have also contributed to increases in property values of 6 per cent to 16 per cent. Between 2025 and 2027, RTA plans to deliver 72 new projects, including those serving key development areas, at an estimated cost of Dh35 billion.

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