North highway expansion plan published

Plan requires funding and
cabinet approval

A plan to expand the north highway linking Beirut to Tripoli was published in the January 16 issue of the government’s Official Gazette.

The plan stipulates the expansion of highway sections between Dbayeh and Tabarja. Some parts were already planned in previous decrees but their planning was modified. Sections which will be widened include Nahr el-Kalb, the Casino du Liban exit, the upper Jounieh crossway, Maameltein-Tabarja, the Sarba-Jounieh side road, and Zouk Mekayel. Roads will also be widened in Haret Sakhr, between Ghadir and Sarba, Jounieh and Sarba, and Sahel Alma.

“These parts will be modified and widened and the areas where there are only two lanes will be broadened to three. A service road separated by concrete barriers will be constructed on each side of the highway,” said Elie Helou, Transportation Engineer at the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR).

The new works will allow commuting vehicles to access roadside stores from certain points only, thus reducing related traffic jams, and the risk of accidents.

Two phases need to be accomplished for the expansion to take place. “Funding should be acquired in order to expropriate lands, construct new roads, and widen current ones,” said Helou. The Council of Ministers should later on approve the required funds.