President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has instructed the government to close sections of the Regional Ring Road undergoing maintenance and upgrades, and to provide safe and suitable alternatives. The directive comes just hours after a deadly accident—the second in a week—on the road now commonly referred to as the "Highway of Death."
According to a brief statement issued by the presidency late Saturday, the closure will apply to sections undergoing maintenance, with alternative and safe routes to be arranged.
The statement did not explicitly mention the accidents but instructed the Ministry of Interior to swiftly penalize traffic violations and intensify enforcement efforts to restore road discipline, especially regarding speed and vehicle loading limits.
The announcement came hours after a deadly collision between two microbuses on the ring road's (Cairo-Alexandria Desert Highway) in Menoufiya governorate. Official reports cite excessive speed as the cause of the crash, which killed nine people and injured 11 others.
A week earlier, another accident on the same road killed 18 female agricultural workers and a microbus driver.
In response to the earlier incident, El-Sisi had directed the government to closely monitor road maintenance and expedite the upgrade of the regional ring road, emphasizing clear signage at repair zones and the removal of hazards that contribute to crashes.
Amid rising calls to investigate officials responsible for the road's poor condition, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Industry Kamel Al-Wazir stressed the need to expedite the implementation of the $1 billion, 400-km-long road.
During a site visit last week, Al-Wazir promised that upgrades would be comprehensive, covering “every inch.”
However, before he could finish speaking, a crash on the opposite side of the road disrupted traffic.
Egypt's roads remain notoriously dangerous, with official figures showing 5,861 deaths from traffic accidents in 2023, down from 7,762 the previous year. Injuries, however, rose to 71,000 in 2023, up from 55,900 in 2022.
