BEIRUT: The 50-year-old bridge atop Charles Malek Avenue in Ashrafieh, used mainly by advertising companies and political parties as a platform for ads and campaign posts is slated to become part of a mega highway project.

The mega project will reconstruct and extend the deteriorating bridge for one kilometer in order to connect the international highway in Hazmieh to the Charles Helou highway in Beirut. But in order to proceed with construction plans, some residential buildings in Ashrafieh will have to be demolished. Officials at the Council for Development and Reconstruction expect construction on the so-called Fouad Boutros Project to start this summer and conclude in 2016, with costs projected at around $60 million.

“[There will be] a number of bridges and tunnels in the 1-kilometer-long project [once it is complete],” said Elie Helou, a senior project manager at the CDR. [Link]