Watch Dubai’s Shindagha Tunnel Being Built in 1975
Vintage video shows life in Dubai in ’75 and how a construction icon came together
Imthishan Giado
Everyone’s heard of Dubai’s famous construction miracles like the Burj Khalifa and the world’s largest mall (by area) Dubai Mall. But our ambition started way, way before then. This is the tale of the only underwater crossing in Dubai across the Creek, the Shindagha Tunnel.
Sensing the value of shipping, the Creek was dredged in 1961 by His Highness Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum. The move created ample room for shipping but then created a new problem: how do you cross it? Of course, everyone reading this will know of the Maktoum and Garhoud Bridges that now span it, but in 1975 a third crossing was dug out of the creek by the clever engineers at Halcrow. It’s an engineering marvel and still in use to this day.
The video is also wonderful time capsule of what it was like to drive the streets of Dubai in the 1970s, when boxy midsize Japanese saloons ruled the roads. How many cars can you ID?
Nice found!
thanks for sharing 🙂