Jebel Jais road in RAK heavily damaged by weekend's storms...
The relatively new mountain road has been broken up in parts due to water damage. Here’s what we know so far…
You know the beautiful new mountain road that winds up Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah?
Well, it was hit badly by the storms this weekend and entire chunks of the road are now broken.
Onlookers stop to see the damage on the mountain road near the border of Oman. Photos: Syabil
Here’s a video showing Engineer Ahmed Al Hammadi, director-general of the Ras Al Khaimah public works department, inspecting the damage:
جولة تفقدية لسعادة المهندس احمد الحمادي مدير عام دائرة الاشغال والخدمات العامة للاطلاع على سير اعمال طريق جبل جيس المرحلة الاخيرة الى القمة pic.twitter.com/pTpg6LBPEj
— دائرة الأشغال العامة (@rakpwsd) March 22, 2017
We still don’t know how long the road will be closed for – or whether it’s possible to just off-road around the broken parts of it – but we’ll keep you updated when more information is released.
Here’s a video that shows more detail of the damage:
*VIDEO & PICS: How crazy was the weather this weekend?*
Interestingly, the road is only a few years’ old, having opened in 2015: it winds more than 20 kilometres around the Jebel Jais mountain, taking you about 5 kilometres from the summit.
Reports are that most of the road is fine, it’s just small chunks that have been damaged.
This photo shows how much of the road was swept away by heavy rains over the weekend. Photos: Syabil
What we do know is that the broken parts of the road are below attractions like the Via Ferrata (so those driving to them may have to do a little off-roading first).
Photos: Syabil
We called the Via Ferrata team and they told us that they will have a better idea of the road’s status when they reopen on Wednesday, so if you’re planning on visiting check in with them then.
We tried the Via Ferrata at Jebel Jais recently (which is the tallest mountain in the UAE, FYI). Here’s a glimpse of the experience:
Do you have any updates on the road or its status? Chuck us a direct message on Facebook to let us know.
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