Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead with the first phase of its Dh2.85 billion ($776 million) Mid-Island Parkway, an eight-lane dual carriageway designed to ease congestion between the capital's fast-growing island communities. According to The National, the first phase is scheduled for completion in 2027.
The new road will link the northern Saadiyat interchange on the E12 motorway to the island's southern tip, continuing on to the Umm Yifeenah Island Central Interchange. Officials say the project's main payoff will be travel time: journeys between Saadiyat Island and Reem Island, or Abu Dhabi's main island, are expected to fall from around 25 minutes to just 10 minutes once the first phase opens.
The works include roughly 2km of reclaimed land, a 600-metre underwater tunnel, and 4km of new walking and cycling tracks that will extend an existing 12km path network, giving residents car-free alternatives alongside the new carriageway.
A second phase has already been announced, adding a further 14.5km to the corridor and extending the route from Umm Yifeenah Island to Sas Al Nakhl, Al Raha Beach and Khalifa City — knitting together several of the emirate's most populous residential clusters.
The parkway is one of several transport upgrades under way around Abu Dhabi's islands, alongside earlier projects such as new bridges on Reem Island that already cut local commuting times. With island populations rising fast, authorities are betting that faster inter-island links will be essential to keeping daily commutes manageable as Abu Dhabi's urban map keeps expanding eastward from the capital's core.