The detour was opened after the Ministry of Transport closed the main Taif to Al-Baha Road because of road works which are progressing very slowly and have so far only reached the villages of Bawa and Al-Jobalat, south of Taif.

Two elderly people died in a recent accident when a Lexus coming from Taif collided head on with a pickup. The driver of the pickup, a 65-year-old man, and the elderly wife of the driver of the Lexus both died. The driver of the Lexus, however, survived but is in critical condition at Taif General Hospital. The number of road accidents along the road has worried local residents. Several people noted that this was the ninth accident on the route in just five weeks and urged the authorities to take stringent action against those responsible for delaying the project.