Construction of the Dubai Metro crossed another landmark recently with the installation of the first footbridge, while nearly all the viaducts on the Red Line have now been erected, according to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

The first footbridge was recently installed on Sheikh Zayed Road with the remaining 19 footbridge crossings being undertaken weekly thereafter until the end of the year.
Installation of the footbridges over minor roads is likely to continue until May 2009.
A total of more than 100 footbridge spans will be installed as part of the metro’s Red Line. The footbridges will provide 24 hour, air-conditioned and spacious public thoroughfares across Sheikh Zayed Road and feature moving walkways and high-quality finishes.
Adnan Al Hammadi, director of construction, rail projects, said: “The planning for the installation of the footbridges, which are being provided under the Dubai Metro Contract, has been ongoing for well over a year now. The key objective of the installation methodology was to minimise disruption to the Dubai public whilst ensuring the safety of the public and Dubai Metro workers alike is not compromised.”
The approved installation method involves full pre-assembly of the footbridge spans off-site including not only the main structure of the bridge but also the external cladding, internal fixtures and finishes, and electrical and mechanical items. Since the resulting weight of the pre-assembled footbridges is well in excess of 200 tonnes, special self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs), pneumatic lifting jacks and adjustable temporary bearings will be used to transport the footbridges into position and lift them onto their permanent supports. The installation is done in a single night during low traffic periods with local traffic control of Sheikh Zayed Road.
 Meanwhile, around 1,150 out of 1,300 spans have been erected with 10 launching gantries working all across the Red Line with the RTA aiming to complete erection of all viaduct spans across the line by end-August.
The Green Line will call for the erection of around 500 spans.
Dubai Metro will have 1,800 spans in total to be constructed for both the lines with a total of 12,315 segments consuming over 267,000 cu m of concrete, nine tower cranes, and 10 launching gantries.
Currently, 10 launching girders are working at a time using the span–by-span erection method while the balanced cantilever method is used for about 5 per cent of the project for special bridges spanning over 72 m and above urban obstacles like interchanges, existing and future road projects.