The Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites has announced that it has completed the extension work on the Third Ring Road, a vital link to Makkah city, and opened it to traffic.

One of four ring roads surrounding Makkah, the Third Ring Road project, is set to cut travel times to the Grand Mosque and the Jamarat facility in Mina by up to approximately 90%, said a statement from the Royal Commission.

With the opening, the distance for motorists heading from Prince Mutib intersection to the Grand Mosque has now decreased from 16.5km to 6.5km, while the distance to the Jamarat facility has fallen from 12km to 4km, it added.

The project is part of efforts to develop Makkah's road network, improve accessibility, ease traffic pressure on surrounding roads, and enhance infrastructure readiness to accommodate traffic, particularly during the Hajj and Umrah seasons, it stated.

The road can accommodate up to 170,000 vehicles per day in both directions, it added.-TradeArabia News Service