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Anyone who has visited Dubai has likely experienced the massive traffic volume on one of its major roads: the 12-lane Sheikh Zayed Road.

According to Arabian Business, Dubai is seeking contractors for a major new road corridor running parallel to Sheikh Zayed Road, with the report saying procurement covers about 30 kilometres of work along First Al Khail Street, including extensive elevated structures and access ramps.

Dubai’s Executive Council approved the First Al Khail Street Development Plan on July 1, 2026. Planned infrastructure will create another high-capacity north-south corridor serving some of Dubai’s busiest commercial and residential districts.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) issued an expression of interest to contractors in early September 2026, with submissions due by October 10, 2026 and scope including about 15 kilometres of viaduct and more than 14.5 kilometres of bridge ramps, alongside associated infrastructure works.

First Al Khail Street will carry an elevated carriageway with three lanes in each direction. Dubai plans to start construction during the third quarter of 2027 and complete the corridor during the fourth quarter of 2030.

Contractors entering the procurement process will compete for a technically complex package dominated by elevated road structures. Around half of the approximately 30-kilometre construction scope comprises the main viaduct. Bridge ramps account for almost all the remaining structural length.

RTA expects the completed corridor to add capacity for about 9,000 vehicles per hour, giving traffic another route alongside Sheikh Zayed Road between key districts and increasing network capacity without relying solely on additional lanes within the existing arterial corridor.

The First Al Khail Street Development Plan is expected to serve about 2.6 million people, with connections providing access to Al Barsha, Al Quoz, Business Bay and Meydan, placing the corridor alongside major residential, commercial and employment zones.

Dubai expects the additional capacity to reduce peak travel times on Sheikh Zayed Road by 51 per cent, with planned construction methods also intended to limit interference with existing traffic while contractors deliver the elevated sections.

Executive Council approval formed part of a broader package of Dubai initiatives valued at $USD4.9 billion (AED18 billion), with projects covering transport infrastructure, trade, urban planning, investment, finance, Emiratisation and population data initiatives.

RTA has also accelerated investment across several adjoining strategic corridors during 2026. The Hessa Street Development Project opened in April following upgrades between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road across 4.5 kilometres, doubling capacity from 8,000 to 16,000 vehicles per hour in both directions and reducing journey times from 15 minutes to four minutes.

First Al Khail Street forms one of the intersections upgraded through the Hessa Street works, and the RTA expanded Hessa Street to four lanes in each direction and increased bridge capacity at its junction with First Al Khail Street.

RTA also awarded a $545 million (AED2 billion) contract in July for the 12 kilometre Latifa bint Hamdan Corridor, which links Sheikh Zayed Road with Al Khail Road, Al Meydan Street, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road.

First, Al Khail Street has already formed part of Dubai’s programme to divert traffic from Sheikh Zayed Road onto parallel routes. Existing sections connect areas including Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Discovery Gardens with the wider arterial network.

New elevated infrastructure will extend that role through a substantially higher capacity corridor. Procurement activity gives contractors more than a year before construction is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2027.

RTA’s latest contractor process also advances a project already tied to a fixed 2030 delivery programme. Planned capacity, extensive viaduct construction and more than 14.5 kilometres of ramps place First Al Khail Street among Dubai’s largest upcoming road infrastructure schemes.