ABU DHABI // The old Al Mafraq Bridge will be closed indefinitely from today for traffic travelling into the capital from Dubai, the municipality said yesterday. Traffic will be diverted to Exit 333, which passes through Khalifa City B and links up with the Al Ain-to-Abu Dhabi motorway. The diversion will remain until work on Al Mafraq Bridge is complete, which is expected to be by the end of the year, according to a municipality spokesman.
Vehicle traffic headed towards Dubai and Al Mafraq Hospital from Al Ain will also be diverted towards the exit branching out of the Al Ain-Abu Dhabi motorway, to Bani Yas East (Road 43). "These diversions are all part of a our project to upgrade the old bridge," said the spokesman. "It has always been a simple, old bridge that only leads in and out of Abu Dhabi, but we are expanding it to include interchanges, exits, tunnels and a complex road system that can better serve the city."
Work on the Dh750 million (US$204m) project began in March 2008, under the umbrella of Abu Dhabi Municipality and the Town Planning Department. A municipality spokesman said he expected traffic flow through the diversion to be "normal", with no jams predicted. @Email:hkhalaf@thenational.ae
