Makkah’s much-delayed 14.5-kilometer third ring road would finally be completed in two months, according to sources.
A contractor started the SR500-million project in September 2007 but failed to complete it in the promised three years. The contractor then failed to meet an October 2012 deadline. The government appropriated more than 700 properties to make way for the road.
The Ministry of Transport is currently overseeing the third ring road project and one other ring road. The Makkah municipality is overseeing the other three rings roads in the city.
Sources told local media that the contractor would complete the project within two months because more than 1,000 workers, technicians and engineers are working around the clock to finish it.
The contractor has built all the project’s bridges, including a large tunnel that links Al-Tahreeb road with Madinah road. The final touches are being made to flyovers on Makkah and Madinah road next to Lady Aisha Mosque.
The 360-meter tunnel has four lanes in each direction, with a special lane for trucks traveling from Jeddah that bypasses residential areas in the Holy Capital.
The project will link Jeddah highway and Lady Aisha Mosque, which is located on the Makkah-Madinah road, with a road of 5.5 kilometers. Those coming from Jeddah can go directly to Lady Aisha Mosque in Al-Taneem via the bridges and tunnels of this project.
The project has two intersections on Al-Hijaz Road and the old Jeddah-Makkah road. It has eight bridges of over 20 meters in height to link mountain areas.
Makkah’ third ring road nears completion
