Egypt shuts key section of Cairo’s Ring Road after two deadly crashes kill 28

Dubai: Egypt’s Ministry of Transport announced the complete closure of a major section of the Regional Ring Road around Cairo for one week, following two deadly crashes that left 28 people dead and prompted a nationwide outcry.

The closure, which will begin Tuesday, affects the stretch of the 400-kilometer highway linking the Alexandria Desert Road intersection to the Suez Desert Road intersection.

The decision comes in response to urgent safety concerns, following two accidents in less than a week — one of which claimed the lives of 19 young women who were on their way to harvest crops.

The other accident claimed nine lives and left 11 others injured. The tragedies triggered widespread grief and anger across Egypt, with social media flooded by calls for accountability and demands for immediate intervention.

In response, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi ordered a high-level inspection of the road and instructed authorities to carry out emergency upgrades.

 In a statement, the Ministry of Transport said the week-long shutdown will enable rapid reinforcement of road paving, installation of warning signs, and implementation of speed-control measures on what is considered one of Egypt’s busiest freight corridors.

The ministry added that the closure forms part of a broader emergency strategy to overhaul the road’s safety infrastructure.

This includes increased monitoring, improved traffic management, and enhanced signage on diversion routes to ensure continued movement and public safety during the closure. “The goal is to safeguard lives and prevent further tragedies,” the ministry said, noting that work crews would operate around the clock to complete the upgrades swiftly.

Despite the recent accidents, a technical review by a committee of civil engineering experts from Cairo, Ain Shams, and Zagazig Universities concluded that the road’s design and construction were structurally sound, with no inherent defects.

The Regional Ring Road, perceived as a solution to Cairo’s chronic traffic congestion, was designed to link key governorates—including Alexandria and Suez — without passing through the capital’s dense urban core. The highway plays a crucial role in Egypt’s national transport network, particularly for freight movement.