How the 'most complicated bridge' was built in Abu Dhabi


James Langton
  • English
  • Arabic

They are some of the buildings that define the UAE. But what is the story behind them? In the second part of our summer series celebrating the country’s architecture, we look into how the landmark Sheikh Zayed Bridge, designed by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, was built.

Seventy years ago this year, workers finished pouring hundreds of tonnes of rocks and concrete into the waters of the Maqta narrows. Finally it was possible to cross from the island of Abu Dhabi to the mainland without getting your feet wet.

The Maqta Causeway might have seemed crude and visually unappealing, but for the next decade and a half it remained the only way to reach the interior of the UAE that was not subjected to the tides.

As Abu Dhabi grew from little more than a fishing village to a burgeoning city, the causeway was replaced in 1968 with the steel span and tarmac of the Maqta Bridge.

Even this would eventually prove inadequate. The Musaffah Bridge was built in 1977, and in 2000, a second span was added to the Maqta Bridge, effectively doubling its capacity.

And still the city grew. In 1997, looking to the future, the city commissioned a third bridge that would meet the demands of traffic until well into the 21st century. It would take another 13 years to complete.

To be called the Sheikh Zayed Bridge, it would cross the Maqta at the eastern entrance to the Arabian Gulf in a single span, connecting to the six-lane motorway to Dubai. The Eastern Corniche — now known as Al Gurm Corniche — would be expanded and widened, and a new stretch of motorway completed from Shahama.

The architect chosen was the brilliant if unconventional Zaha Hadid, born in Baghdad and then a British citizen. As Artichoke magazine noted a year after its opening in 2010: “The bridge bears all the usual hallmarks of Hadid’s work: structural challenges, phenomenal delays and an iconic final result.”

Zaha Hadid designed Sheikh Zayed Bridge, taking inspiration from the surrounding landscape and her childhood in Baghdad. Photo: AP
Zaha Hadid designed Sheikh Zayed Bridge, taking inspiration from the surrounding landscape and her childhood in Baghdad. Photo: AP

Hadid, who died of a heart attack aged 56 in 2016, had her own vision of the project. It began, she explained, with a study of the landscape and environment of the site.

“We draw certain lines of connections with the local environment and use these to inform our design. This ‘embeds’ the design into its surroundings so that each project has the strongest possible relationship with its unique context.

“We are not thinking so much of metaphor, but more in terms of analogy — the landscape analogy — where features of a natural landscape are expressed within the architectural design.”

There were influences, also, of her childhood in Baghdad. “When I was a child, we used to take along picnics for trips to the ruins of Samarra where the Tigris and Euphrates meet in southern Iraq.

“You stand there, and there is timelessness. You see the rivers and trees and you know that 10,000 years ago it was like that. There was this amazing flow between the land and the water that extended to incorporate the buildings and the people.

“I think that perhaps what I am trying to do is capture that kind of seamlessness and flow in an urban architectural context.”

The result was effectively an arch bridge, with a suspended deck supported by a series of dramatic sweeping curves that echoed desert sand dunes above and the waves of the Gulf below. It was visually stunning — but only on paper at that point.

Construction began in 2003. The bridge would be 852 metres long, nearly twice that of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, rising to a height of 64m. Those dramatic steel arches required 12,000 tonnes of steel and 250,000 cubic metres of concrete to be poured above and below ground.

The work was carried out mainly by Archirodon Construction, although late in the project Six Construction took over. For the first three years, workers toiled to drive piles and lay the foundations. It was, some claimed, the most complicated bridge ever built.

The first sections of arch rose in 2006, but work stalled during the financial crisis of 2008, leaving them hanging over empty space.

Construction under way on Sheikh Zayed Bridge on March 4, 2009. Sammy Dallal / The National
Construction under way on Sheikh Zayed Bridge on March 4, 2009. Sammy Dallal / The National

Roy Lengweiler, a Swiss-born project manager for Archiroden, saw first-hand the extraordinary physical labour required to realise Hadid’s vision.

“I would like everyone to appreciate the hard work of these people and to give them the credit they deserve,” he told The National in 2010. “Once the bridge is finished or, indeed, if you look at it now, it is difficult to comprehend the scale of what has been constructed.”

A decade later, he reflected the bridge was “unparalleled in complexity”.

The architecture, though, is only part of the bridge’s “wow” factor. As far back at 1998, it was decided that lighting would play a major part of its appearance after dark.

Roger van der Heide, a Dutch lighting designer, was brought in to work with Hadid, although it would be 13 years before his vision became reality.

The result, though, was spectacular. Six hundred automatic lights bathe the bridge in an ever-changing palate of colour described as a “language of light” that represents the people and culture of the UAE. At every new moon, it is coloured deep blue, like the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

The bridge was officially opened on November 25, 2010, by the late president Sheikh Khalifa, and attended by the UK's Queen Elizabeth II, who was on her second state visit to the UAE. Traffic flowed for the first time three days later.

Eight decades after the first humble crossing of the Maqta channel, it will be a tough act to follow.

A version of this article was first published on July 24, 2022

EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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Fight Night

FIGHT NIGHT

Four title fights:

Amir Khan v Billy Dib - WBC International title
Hughie Fury v Samuel Peter - Heavyweight co-main event  
Dave Penalosa v Lerato Dlamini - WBC Silver title
Prince Patel v Michell Banquiz - IBO World title

Six undercard bouts:

Michael Hennessy Jr v Abdul Julaidan Fatah
Amandeep Singh v Shakhobidin Zoirov
Zuhayr Al Qahtani v Farhad Hazratzada
Lolito Sonsona v Isack Junior
Rodrigo Caraballo v Sajid Abid
Ali Kiydin v Hemi Ahio

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How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, Group C
Liverpool v Red Star Belgrade
Anfield, Liverpool
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Afcon 2019

SEMI-FINALS

Senegal v Tunisia, 8pm

Algeria v Nigeria, 11pm

Matches are live on BeIN Sports

Key Points
  • Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
  • Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic

Virtuzone GCC Sixes

Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City

Time Matches start at 9am

Groups

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Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

The five pillars of Islam
The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

The Brutalist

Director: Brady Corbet

Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn

Rating: 3.5/5

Traits of Chinese zodiac animals

Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent   

THE DETAILS

Kaala

Dir: Pa. Ranjith

Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar  

Rating: 1.5/5 

How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

List of alleged parties

 May 15 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at
least 17 staff members

May 20 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'bring your own booze'
party

Nov 27 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff

Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary
Gavin Williamson

Dec 13 2020: PM and Carrie throw a flat party

Dec 14 2020: London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative
Party headquarters

Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz

Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party

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Tamkeen's offering
  • Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
  • Option 2: 50% across three years
  • Option 3: 30% across five years 
Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Section 375

Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat

Director: Ajay Bahl

Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL

Rating: 3.5/5

What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs

Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor

Power: 843hp at N/A rpm

Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km

On sale: October to December

Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)

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Updated: August 14, 2023, 7:25 AM