| Al Maktoum Bridge | |
| Native Name: | جسر آل مكتوم |
| Carries: | Vehicle |
| Open: | 1963 |
Al Maktoum Bridge (in Arabic: جسر آل مكتوم; also known in Arabic as جسر المكتوم) is a bridge that crosses Dubai Creek in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is one of six crossings on the creek and was the first bridge/crossing in Dubai. The others are Al Shindagha Tunnel, Floating Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge and Business Bay Crossing. The Dubai Metro also goes under the creek.
Opened in 1963, this bridge enabled people to cross from Bur Dubai to Deira, or vice versa, without using a boat ferry called Abra or going all the way around Dubai Creek. To pay for the bridge, a toll was applied to vehicles crossing the creek going from Deira to Bur Dubai. There was no toll for people travelling in the other direction. Once the bridge was fully paid for in 1973, the toll was removed.[1]
The bridge, and roads leading to it, underwent a widening in 2007. The bridge was widened to increase the bridge's capacity and to ease congestion. The new lanes were opened on 7 November 2007. Currently, traffic flow on the bridge handles up to 22,000 vehicles per hour in both directions.[2]
The road toll (called Salik), was re-introduced on the Al Maktoum Bridge on 9 September 2008 for both directions. The toll will not be charged when the Floating Bridge is closed (from 10pm to 6am from Monday to Saturday, and for the whole day on Sundays).[3]
In 2024, Dubai's Roads and Transportation Authority (RTA) revealed a detailed maintenance plan to continue RTA's vision of being "the world leader in seamless and sustainable mobility."[4] Their five-point schedule includes daily preventive and routine maintenance, weekly maintenance, monthly maintenance, quarterly preventive and routine maintenance, and annual major overhaul of the bridge. The bulk of these maintenance activities are scheduled during the closure of the bridge, after midnight twice a week.