The governorate stated that the closure, which began on Saturday, aims to facilitate the ongoing construction of the Nile Valley station, part of the west line of the country's under-construction monorail project.

The closure covers the area stretching from the top of the Nile Valley Street tunnel to the beginning of the Lebanon Bridge.

In a statement on Saturday, the governorate said that by the end of the 6-month closure, the first phase of the station will have been completed.

Alternative routes

The governorate, to avoid traffic congestion, also identified other routes for drivers using the 26^th July Road:

• Vehicles coming from Lebanon Square and the 6th of October City and heading towards 15th of May Street and Zamalek Club should turn right onto an adjacent road until they reach the exit point, where they return, having circumvented the station's construction site, to the 26th of July Road and from there to the 15th of May Bridge and Sphinx Square.
• Vehicles coming from the 15th of May Bridge and the Tersana Club and heading towards Lebanon Square and the 6th of October City should turn right on an adjacent road – right on top of the Nile Valley Tunnel – until the exit point to return to the 26th of July Road and from there to Lebanon Square and the districts of the city of 6^th of October.

Green transportation

Egypt’s first, two-line monorail extends for almost 100km – making it the longest monorail network in the world.

The project will be Egypt’s most advanced means of mass transportation, linking Cairo, New Cairo’s Fifth Settlement, the New Administrative Capital, and the 6th of October City.

The East Nile Line – or the New Administrative Capital Line – connects the administrative capital to New Cairo’s Fifth Settlement and Cairo’s Nasr City district via 22 stations extending over 56.5 km.

The West Nile Line – known as the 6th of October Line – links the 6th of October City to the Arab League headquarters in downtown Cairo via 12 stations extending over 42km.

The monorail, whose west line is said to start operating this year, runs on electricity and represents one of Egypt’s various means of green transportation that would improve mobility for its population, reduce emissions, and ease traffic congestion.

Other eco-friendly means of transportation in Egypt include the light rail transit (LRT), the high-speed electric train, and the bus rapid transit (BRT) system.