Under Al Maryah bridges

Did you see the Abu Dhabi Tour on TV? I did. Great views of Abu Dhabi Corniche, Louvre under construction, Saadiyat bridge, Khalifa highway, Ferrari World, Yas Circuit, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and more. Definitely a magnetic effect to attract more tourists to the city that didn't exist 40 years ago.

Cyclists crossing one of the bridges on Al Raha Boulevard. Source: www.abudhabitour.com

From the birds eye view it all looks so stunning wow-I-want-to-go-there. Having lived here for some time I can tell that it may not be as compelling on the street level and you'd better watch your step. But there are some high quality developments like Al Maryah Island for example that already has the hotel, the hospital and the mall open with extremely well detailed seaside promenade and downtown silhouette view. Here is one picture expressing the vision of Maryah Island.

Source: http://www.almaryahisland.ae/

Currently the city is building two new bridges to connect Maryah Island with the city centre also known as the Tourist Area on Abu Dhabi island and two other bridges to connect with Reem island.
We went for the walk on one Friday noon to have a closer look at work in progress. Here are the shots.

Bridge girders are transported to the site

Abutment waterproofing and MSE walls progressing

Foundation works of Maryah Mall. As can be seen, all of Maryah Island public roads are elevated.

Not only roads, but public space including landscaping is supported with concrete.

Everything on Maryah Island so far was next to excellence except for the fire hydrants on the promenade until..

Apparently the bridges being built are different from the vision. The goal for these bridges seems to be constructability and constructability only.

I wonder why? This is not at all Abu Dhabi style, more like Mussafah. The decision to build just the means of transport must have been made before the oil prices started slumping so it is not the cash flow to blame. Was the reason the experience with Sheikh Zayed Bridge which took 8 years to construct? Regardless the difficulties during the construction the landmark bridge is printed on sleeky covers and fits well on wide TV-screens. Same cannot be said about the Maryah bridges under construction.