Al Shindagha Tunnel (
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: نفق الشندغة) is a tunnel in
Dubai
Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. Opened on 19 December 1975, it is the oldest and the busiest tunnel where 55,000 vehicles travel through the tunnel both directions daily.
It goes under
Dubai Creek to connect the neighborhoods of
Al Ras,
Deira
Deira ( ; Old Welsh/ or ; or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom.
Etymology
The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic , meaning 'oak' ( in modern Welsh), in which case ...
and
Al Shindagha where it is the only underwater road crossing Dubai Creek. The tunnel has a total of four lanes (two in each direction), a height clearance of 5 meters and speed is limited at .
History
For many years the twin town of Deira and Al Ras were connected by a twin bridge which caused delays due to time lags in opening and closing of the vacuoles.
Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Dubai ruler entrusted Sir
William Halcrow and Partners (SWHP) to do a feasibility study to build a more direct link between the two towns. A bridge nearer to the sea was not possible, the reason being the same when the existing bridge were sited and SWHP proposed a tunnel to be built. An added advantage of the tunnel would be its proximity to the
Port Rashid which was also designed by SWHP. Preliminary studies demonstrated the feasibility of both dry land and immersed methods of construction. The contractor company however elected to build the tunnel in the dry. Stage 1 envisages dredging back of Deira bank to form a new diverted channel for shipping and building of a coffer dam out in to the creek from the Shindaga. Stage 2 would be to create an island in the middle of the creek and reopen the original channel for shipping now between the island and the Shindaga, Close the new diverted channel. Then building a new coffer dam in the Deira bank and pump the area dry and start building the tunnel from the Deira side towards the island. Finally on completion the original bank and channel would be reinstated.
It was inaugurated on 19 December 1975 by
Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani
Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani (; 17 September 1932 – 23 October 2016) was the Emir of Qatar from 1972 Qatari coup d'état, 27 February 1972 until he was deposed by his son Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Hamad bin Khalifa in a 1995 Qatari coup d'� ...
, the ruler of
Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
, in the presence of
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati royal, politician, philanthropist and the founder of the United Arab Emirates. Zayed served as the governor of Eastern Region from 1946 until he became ...
, the president of the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
and
Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the vice president of UAE and the ruler of Dubai.
Replacement
Due to the aging of the tunnel, the
Roads and Transport Authority is planning to replace tunnel with a bridge. The bridge is set to have multiple lanes to improve the flow of traffic. The Infinity Bridge will soon replace the Al Shindagha Tunnel once decommissioned from service. The Al Shindagha Corridor stretches across major roads, including Sheikh Rashid Street, Al Mina Street, and Al Khaleej Street, and serves as a key route connecting different parts of Dubai. The completion of Phase 4 is expected to significantly improve road capacity and reduce travel time for residents and commuters.
External links
Construction video of the tunnel
References
Tunnels in the United Arab Emirates
Transport in Dubai
Buildings and structures in Dubai
Tunnels completed in 1975
Road tunnels
{{Dubai-stub