Cairo–Alexandria desert road

Cairo–Alexandria desert road, also known as the Cairo–Alexandria freeway and the Cairo–Alexandria highway, is the main highway that connects Cairo to Alexandria, the two largest cities in Egypt. It is 220 km long. It begins at Giza, at the northwest corner of Cairo's regional ring road, and ends in Alexandria (Kilo 21).History In 1935: The English Shell Company built the road six meters wide, built with rocks and covered with bitumen, using "mix in place" method. In 1959: The Egyptian government planned to cover the road with asphalt layers to enhance it. In 1971: The Egyptian government extended the road to be 9 meters wide. In 1981: The Egyptian government expanded the road to two directions. It was designed to sustain 1,500 vehicles/day. In 1998: A third lane for each direction was established to increase the road capacity to sustain 13,500 vehicles/day. In 2003: A fourth lane for each direction was established to increase the road capacity to sustain 25,200 vehicles/day. In 2005: The government planned to light the road to increase the road's quality.DevelopmentIn 2007, the Egyptian government represented by the General Authority for Roads, Bridges and Land Transport planned to develop the Cairo-Alexandria-Marsa Matrouh desert road and turn it into a freeway in compliance with global standards. The project aimed to achieve the following:• Establishing new service roads besides the main road to serve the existing structures along the road with ideal control for the road's entrances and exits.• Cancelling all surface intersections, the main reasons for many accidents, by building new free intersections.