New bridge opens to link Saadiyat Island to Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi on Wednesday marked a major milestone in its infrastructure plans when a bridge opened to link Saadiyat Island with the city.

As part of it Plan Abu Dhabi 2030, the UAE capital opened the 10-lane Sheikh Khalifa Bridge and a 27km expressway.

Opened by General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the 1.4km-long bridge connects Saadiyat Island to Abu Dhabi for the first time and was named after Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.

The event also celebrated the launch of the newly constructed 10-lane expressway, which stretches from Port Zayed on the Abu Dhabi mainland to the Shahama District, passing through Saadiyat and Yas islands.

The Sheikh Khalifa Bridge, which will now serve as the new gateway into Abu Dhabi, is part of major infrastructure works on Saadiyat Island, which is being developed by Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC).

Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of TDIC, said: “The Sheikh Khalifa Bridge highlights a major achievement in the progress of Abu Dhabi as Saadiyat Island is set to become one of the world’s leading destinations.

"We anticipate large numbers of visitors with the upcoming opening of distinctive museums and other highly prominent tourism attractions on Saadiyat and we are certain that the bridge and expressway will be pivotal to its success,” he added.

Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties built the majority part of the expressway, which continues to its Yas Island development.  

Ahmed Al Sayegh, chairman of Aldar, said: “This infrastructure project is central to our commitment to contribute to the development of the Emirate as set out in the Plan Abu Dhabi 2030.”

Sheikh Khalifa Bridge is one of the largest infrastructure developments in Abu Dhabi, which has been constructed using approximately 15,000 tons of asphalt, 15,500 tonnes of reinforcement steel.

More than 1,300 people and a total of more than 7.5 million man hours were dedicated to the project.

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