TAIF: A committee has revisited the Al-Hada Road after it was blocked for a third time in a week by rocks that had fallen from overlooking mountains. The committee, with representatives from Traffic Police, Civil Defense and the Ministry of Transport, inspected work to remove the massive boulders and looked at ways to secure the site and prevent further occurrences. The latest rock falls are believed to have been caused by two days of continuous rains, and led to the closure of the highway and the diversion of traffic in both directions via the Al-Sail Road and the Al-Sharaa'i Road. “Rock falls blocked the road at various sites,” said Abdullah Al-Shahrani, head of Taif Traffic Police. “The road is expected to remain closed until Friday morning.” He said that measures were being studied to tackle the situation, and added that as a precaution the road will be declared immediately closed in the event of rainfall. “The measure will protect road users,” he said. A Civil Defense spokesman said that rains fell on various parts of the region over the previous two days, but that no accidents were registered. “The public should refrain from going along flood valley courses and also from taking mountain paths,” he said.
