Beirut, Lebanon (Enmaeya News) — The Jounieh Highway, one of the most vital coastal roads in Lebanon, is slated for a $40 million expansion aimed at easing severe traffic congestion, officials said.

MP Sajih Attieh, chairman of the Parliamentary Public Works Committee and member of the National Moderation Bloc, announced the plan following a joint meeting of the Public Works and Energy & Water Committees. The meeting, attended by Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rassamni, focused on addressing the chronic traffic bottlenecks affecting the area.

The highway, stretching from Nahr el-Kalb to the Casino Bridge, carries tens of thousands of drivers daily. Congestion worsens in the summer months when traffic doubles. A similar expansion project was first proposed in 2019 but was never implemented, leaving the problem unresolved.

Officials stressed that widening the road alone would not solve traffic issues. Minister Rassamni said the government plans to provide 30 new buses distributed to district centers outside Beirut, along with an expected Chinese donation of about 100 buses.

These measures build on the government’s “shared transport” project, launched Dec. 20, 2024. The project initially included six lines connecting Beirut and its suburbs and expanded in April to link Beirut with Tripoli in the north, Tyre in the south, and Chtoura in the Bekaa.