Editing Transport in Saudi Arabia (section)

== Roads ==
[[File:Medina Road - Jeddah - Saudi Arabia.jpg|thumb|Traffic on Medina Road in [[Jeddah]]]]

=== History and overview ===
In 1921, [[King Abdulaziz]] introduced the first car in Saudi Arabia.<ref name="Al-Harby"/> However, by the time the Kingdom was established in 1932, there were still less than {{convert|30|miles|km}} of paved roadways in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.saudiembassy.net/transportation-communication#:~:text=At%20the%20time%20of%20the,air%2C%20marine%20and%20public%20transport. |title=Transportation & Communication |website= saudiembassy.net|publisher=[[Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, D.C.]] |access-date=October 9, 2023 }}</ref> Cars eventually supplanted camels as the main mode of transport in the Kingdom in the 1950s, with a major uptick in car ownership occurring in the 1970s.<ref name ="Al-Harby">{{cite web |url= https://english.alarabiya.net/amp/variety/2018/02/13/When-the-first-car-was-introduced-to-Saudi-Arabia-98-years-ago|title=When the first car was introduced to Saudi Arabia 98 years ago |last=Al-Harby |first=Mohamed |date=February 13, 2018 |website= english.alarabiya.net|publisher= [[Al Arabiya English]]|access-date= October 9, 2023}}</ref> The roads of Saudi Arabia gradually became the defining feature of the kingdom's transport system as the main population centres are not only scattered all over the country but also because they faced a major challenge from the [[Geography of Saudi Arabia|geography of the country]] itself; separated by [[Arabian Desert|deserts]], [[valley]]s and [[mountain]]s, among other [[landform]]s. Due to this, a reliable road network became more important and essential than other [[Mode of transport|modes of transport]] in the kingdom.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Aldagheiri|first=M.|title=The role of transport roads network in the economic development in Saudi Arabia|url=https://asc.qu.edu.sa/files/shares/The%20role%20of%20transport%20roads%20network.pdf|website=Qassim University College of Arabic and Sociology|access-date=2020-08-10|archive-date=2020-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725180739/https://asc.qu.edu.sa/files/shares/The%20role%20of%20transport%20roads%20network.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Saudi Arabia had encouraged road transport in the past by maintaining one of the lowest petrol prices in the world. Despite raising prices in 2018,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Saudi Arabia hikes fuel price|work=[[Saudi Gazette]]|url=http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/525180/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-Arabia-hikes-fuel-price}}</ref> it is worth noting that due to limited alternative passenger transport options in the country, the gasoline fuel demand is relatively inelastic to its prices;<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Algunaibet, Ibrahim, Walid Matar|date=2017|title=The responsiveness of fuel demand to gasoline price change in passenger transport: a case study of Saudi Arabia|journal=Energy Efficiency |volume=11 |issue=6 |pages=1341–1358 |doi=10.1007/s12053-018-9628-6}}</ref> light-duty vehicles dominate the passenger transport landscape. Buses and other public transport options are limited, and walking or bicycles are hindered by the urban landscapes and harsh weather in most regions of the country.

The development of the Saudi road network can be divided into two major phases; i.e. the expansion of the modern road network from 1938 to 1970, preceding the initial development plans conceived by the [[Ministry of Transport (Saudi Arabia)|Ministry of Transport]], and the development and expansion after the introduction of the plans (after 1970). The two stages, pre-national planning and postnational planning, relate to the historical circumstances of the economic, political and social demands of the kingdom. The activity during the second stage greatly exceeds that during the first owing to the existence of coordinated plans, high investment and concentration of effort.<ref name=":0" />

=== Highway network ===
The [[Ministry of Transport (Saudi Arabia)|Ministry of Transport]] in 2014 maintained a total estimated road length of 627,000&nbsp;km, of which 151,000&nbsp;km were highways linking major regions of [[Saudi Arabia]] with international borders and serving as interconnecting roads between the major Saudi Arabian cities; 102,000&nbsp;km were secondary roads linking major cities with other smaller cities in their respective provinces; 374,000&nbsp;km were feeder roads branching out of secondary roads and serving towns, villages & agricultural areas. Another 204,000&nbsp;km of roads was under construction by the end of [[fiscal year]] 2014. The [[Ministry of Transport (Saudi Arabia)|Ministry of Transport]] maintains 151,000&nbsp;km of major roads linking the major Saudi Arabian cities and the kingdom to its neighbors.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" />
{| class="wikitable"
|+Major highways of Saudi Arabia
!Saudi highway network
![[Arab Mashreq International Road Network|Mashreq network]]
!Southern or western terminus
!Northern or eastern terminus
!Map
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-5.svg|frameless|40x40px]] Highway 5
|[[File:Mashreq-M55.gif|frameless|40x40px]] M55
|'''Road 45''' at Yemeni border in [[At Tuwal|Tuwal]]
|[[Highway 15 (Jordan)|'''Highway 15''']]/[[Highway 65 (Jordan)|'''Highway 65''']] at Jordanian border in Durra
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 5 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 5]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-10.svg|frameless|40x40px]] [[Highway 10 (Saudi Arabia)|Highway 10]]
|[[File:Mashreq-M90.gif|frameless|40x40px]] M90
|Highway 5 in [[Al Darb]]
|[[E 11 road (United Arab Emirates)|'''E11''']] at Emirati border in Batha'
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 10 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 10]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-15.svg|frameless|40x40px]] Highway 15
|[[File:Mashreq-M45.gif|frameless|40x40px]] M45
|'''S150''' at Yemeni border in Al Wadi'ah
|[[Highway 5 (Jordan)|'''Highway 5''']] at Jordanian border in Halat 'Ammar
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 15 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 15]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-40.svg|frameless|40x40px]] [[Highway 40 (Saudi Arabia)|Highway 40]]
|[[File:Mashreq-M80.gif|frameless|40x40px]] M80
|Highway 5 in [[Jeddah]]
|Route 613 in [[Dammam]]
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 40 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 40]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-50.svg|frameless|40x40px]] Highway 50
|[[File:Mashreq-M70.gif|frameless|40x40px]] M70 from [[Al Artawiyah|Artawiyah]]
|Highway 40 in Dhalm
|'''M70''' at Kuwaiti border in Ruqa'i
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 50 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 50]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-60.svg|frameless|40x40px]] [[Highway 60 (Saudi Arabia)|Highway 60]]
|[[File:Mashreq-M70.gif|frameless|40x40px]] M70
|Highway 5 near [[Yanbu]]
|Highway 50 in Artawiyah
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 60 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 60]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-65.svg|frameless|40x40px]] [[Highway 65 (Saudi Arabia)|Highway 65]]
|[[File:Mashreq-M35.gif|frameless|40x40px]] M35
|Highway 10 in [[Hotat Bani Tamim]]
|[[Highway 30 (Jordan)|'''Highway 30''']] at Jordanian border in [[Qurayyat, Saudi Arabia|Qurayyat]]
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 65 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 65]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-70.svg|frameless|40x40px]] Highway 70
|
|Route 375 in [[Al-Ula|AlUla]]
|Highway 6262 in Linah
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 70 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 70]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-75.svg|frameless|40x40px]] Highway 75
|
|Route 180 in [[Al Kharkhir]]
|Highway 95 near [[Tanajib]]
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 75 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 75]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-80.svg|frameless|40x40px]] Highway 80
|[[File:Mashreq-M50.gif|frameless|40x40px]] M50
|Highway 5 in [[Duba, Saudi Arabia|Duba]]
|'''Road 22''' at Iraqi border in [[Arar, Saudi Arabia|'Arar]]
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 80 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 80]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-85.svg|frameless|40x40px]] Highway 85
|[[File:Mashreq-M25.gif|frameless|40x40px]] M25
|Highway 65 in [[Qurayyat, Saudi Arabia|Qurayyat]]
|Highway 95 near [[Jubail]]
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 85 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 85]]
|-
|[[File:Saudi Arabia - Highway-95.svg|frameless|40x40px]] Highway 95
|[[File:Mashreq-M5.gif|frameless|40x40px]] M5
|[[E 11 road (United Arab Emirates)|'''E11''']] at Emirati border in Batha'
|'''Road 40''' at Kuwaiti border in [[Khafji]]
|[[File:Saudi Arabia 95 map.png|100px|Map of Highway 95]]
|-
| colspan="5" |'''Source(s)''':<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Road Safety|url=https://www.mot.gov.sa/en/Roads/Pages/SafetyOnRoad.aspx|access-date=19 August 2020|website=Ministry of Transport}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Watling|first=Rawan Shaif, Jack|title=How the UAE's Chinese-Made Drone Is Changing the War in Yemen|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/27/drone-wars-how-the-uaes-chinese-made-drone-is-changing-the-war-in-yemen/|access-date=2020-08-19|website=Foreign Policy|language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
| colspan="5" |'''Note(s)''':

* Highway number(s) in bold indicate that the route is not part of the Saudi highway network.
|}

Most of these highways are two-lane highways, and some of them are not separated by [[median strip]]s. The Ministry of Transport has been working on a project to gradually modernize these roads. [[Highway 10 (Saudi Arabia)|Highway 10]] currently holds the record for world's longest straight road, with the {{Cvt|256|km||abbr=}} section from [[Haradh]] to the Batha' border with UAE cutting through the [[Rub' al Khali|Rub' al-Khali]] desert, beating the previous record holder, [[Australia]]'s [[Eyre Highway]], by {{Cvt|110|km||abbr=}}.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-03-11|title=Saudi Arabia home to the world's longest straight road|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1263776/offbeat|access-date=2020-08-19|website=Arab News|language=en}}</ref> On 19 February 2018, the [[speed limit]] on sections of Highway 5, Highway 15, [[Highway 40 (Saudi Arabia)|Highway 40]] and [[Highway 65 (Saudi Arabia)|Highway 65]] was increased from 120&nbsp;km/h (75&nbsp;mph) to 140&nbsp;km/h (87&nbsp;mph).<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/1249|title=Arab News}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>