Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced plans to launch the second phase of the water canal project as the work on the traffic diversion at Al Wasl Road nears completion.

The work under the Phase One of the main traffic diversion on Al Wasl Road near Safa Park will be completed soon and the diversion is expected to be fully opened by the end of the month, said the RTA in a statement.

The diversion extends about half a kilometRE and maintains the same number of the existing lanes in order to avoid any impact on the traffic movement, it added.

The Dubai water canal project is being implemented in three phases.

Apart from traffic diversions, the first package also involves the construction of bridges across the canal on the Sheikh Zayed Road sector where eight-lane bridges rising 8-m above the water level will be constructed in each direction, thus enabling free marine navigation in the canal round-the-clock.

Apart from this, a number of improvement works will be carried out on the main roads network intersecting the course of the canal.

The second phase includes the construction of bridges across the canal on the Jumeirah and Al Wasl roads, comprising three lanes on the Jumeirah Road and two lanes on Al Wasl Road in each direction, in addition to a ramp from Al Wasl Road to Al Hadiqa Road in the direction of the Sheikh Zayed Road.

The third phase includes digging a 3.2 km-long canal and filling works to create an island on the beach side besides constructing a marine wall around the island to prepare a sand beach, a marina for yachts and the water bus and three eye-catching footbridges.

Commenting on the progress, Maitha bin Udai, the CEO of Traffic and Roads Agency at RTA, said the canal project work was progressing well as per the timeline set.

"The project works dictated diverting the traffic on Al Wasl Roads, including diverting the traffic flow from and to Abu Dhabi to the traffic diversion underway while maintaining the same number of lanes," she noted.

The new traffic diversion will be fitted with all the required traffic safety means such as signals, cautionary lights on the street and concrete barriers, said Maitha.

According to her, work has already started on the laying of utility line conduits underneath the path of the proposed canal (mainland side) while protecting and diverting utility lines underneath the traffic diversion path.

"Concurrently with these diversions, construction works will start on the bridge on Al Wasl Road in the direction of Abu Dhabi, once the traffic movement is routed directly through the traffic diversion," she added.-TradeArabia News Service