Motorists in Jeddah will be required to divert their route at the Bani Malik and Prince Majed intersection from Sunday, as this stretch of road will be closed for the construction of a tunnel, the Jeddah Municipality announced on Saturday.

Abdulaziz Al-Ghamdi, information director at the Jeddah Municipality, said that construction is expected to last for at least 18 months.

The tunnel will cost SR92 million to construct and and will be 600 meters long.

Prince Majed Street, which begins from old Makkah Road in the southern part of the city and ends at the Haramain Expressway that connects to King Abdulaziz International Airport, is the longest and busiest road in the city.

Bani Malik Road also connects the eastern part of the city near the Haramain Expressway to King Fahad Street, which is commonly known as Sitteen Street.

Jeddah’s municipality embarked on the construction of a tunnel at the Bani Malik stretch to ease traffic congestion.

The tunnel and flyover at Palestine Street, which are nearing completion, have also eased bottlenecks at the Prince Majed, Palestine and Bani Malik Street intersections.

Jeddah’s municipality is implementing new projects worth over SR600 million to ease traffic congestion in the city.