The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has completed about 70 per cent of the Dh700 million ($190.5 million) Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project and is due to open in middle of next year, said a report.

New roads linking Al Riyadh and Oud Metha streets are expected to open to traffic by the middle of this year which will help ease traffic woes in the Rashid Hospital area, the Gulf News reported.

"Once completed, the capacity of the roads in the areas surrounding the project will increase to about 6,000 vehicles per hour," the report cited RTA executive director Mattar Al Tayer as saying.

The project comprises the construction of roads and two two-lane tunnels to serve the traffic inbound from Tariq Bin Ziyad and Umm Harir streets and heading towards the intersection of Al Riyadh street with the extension of the Floating Bridge, he stated.

"In the middle of this year, the RTA will open the surface roads linking Al Riyadh Street and Oud Metha which serve Rashid Hospital and Dubai Media Inc. This step will ease the traffic flow and ease the congestion in the area between Al Riyadh and Oud Metha Streets," he added.