A huge new bridge has been given the green light that will link Dubai to the entertainment island that is set to be the home of the world’s tallest Ferris wheel.

The 1,400 metre mega bridge is expected to cost Dhs500 million and will stretch from the Jumeirah Lakes Towers interchange of Sheikh Zayed Road to the Bluewaters Island development.

The road bridge is part of the Entrances Project that has been set up to ferry people quickly and efficiently to the Island. The project also includes a monorail from JLT Metro station to the island, as well as a footbridge from the island to Jumeirah Beach Residence. A cable car is also planned to provide a fourth method of transportation to the entertainment area.

The four-lane road bridge was approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2015. The talked-about Bluewaters Island will have a promenade, a souq, a five star hotel, plus residential properties.

The Dubai Ferris wheel, which was announced in February 2013, is set to be the centrepoint of the ambitious Bluewaters Island development. Named the Dubai Eye, it will be the tallest wheel in the world at 210 metres tall and is expected to attract more than three million visitors per year. It will overtake the world’s current tallest Ferris wheel, the Singapore Flyer, which stands at 165 metres. Next is Europe’s tallest, the London Eye, at 135 metres. New York City is planning a Ferris wheel for 2016 that will come in at 190 metres.

The Dubai Eye will dominate the city’s skyline but, just to put things in perspective, it will still be four times smaller than the 829-metre Burj Khalifa.

FACT: The Ferris wheel is named after American architect George Washington Gale Ferris, who created the original Ferris Wheel for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.