An overland trans-desert bus service between
Beirut,
Haifa,
Damascus and
Baghdad was established by the
Nairn Transport Company of Damascus in 1923. As
Bashar al-Assad regime has fallen in 2024 and the global sanctions have been lifted, there are new efforts to rehabilitate the road network in Syria. Re-asphalting the roads, refurbishing the
medians (Replacing or fixing the
light posts, inserting new plants and cleaning the median area), replacing or inserting new
Jersey barrier blocks in main
trunk roads. As
Google Maps has limited functions in Syria since 2013, meaning that the last modifications are applied since 2013, there are no real-time updates on the maps from that time until now, limiting the ability to accurately navigate through the app.
OpenStreetMap can be dependent as an alternative to Google Maps, but needs more collaborations to improve the overall map. There are efforts by the
Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to uplift the ban of Google services on Syria, enabling the ability rehabilitate maps in Syria.
Ministry of Local Administration has recently launched a new project to rename the landmarks in Syria. The road numbering system will be updated, preserving the M- system or adding new codes is probable.
Roads , Syria had a total road network of . Of this, were paved, including of expressways, while the remaining consisted of unpaved roads. The previous study is not intended currently for reference as it has been deprecated since new roads and highways had been paved. The
Ministry of Transport will produce a new report of the road network state soon.
Motorways Syria has a well-developed system of
motorways in the western half of the country. The country had joined the
Arab Mashreq International Road Network, creating new corridors passing through Syria to other eastern Arab countries. The eastern part nevertheless has only connection through two lanes roads due to the sparsity of the population (
M15 is an exception, because
Raqqa -
Aleppo motorway has been paved since 2009). Note: There are no traffic signs that indicates the local M- system, they are originally indicated in
Google Maps and
OpenStreetMap. Only
Arab Mashreq International Road Network shield signs are existent in the motorways and officially mentioned in the official reports produced by
Ministry of Transport. The main motorways, including its parent corridors specified in
Arab Mashreq International Road Network, in Syria are the following: •
M1 (
M20) – Runs from
Homs to
Latakia. It also connects
Tartus,
Baniyas and
Jableh. Its length is 174 km. • M2 (
M30) – Runs from
Damascus to
Jdeidat Yabous, on the
border with Lebanon. It also connects
Al-Sabboura. Its length is 38 km. •
M4 (
M10) – Runs from
Latakia to
Saraqib. It also connects
Ariha and
Jisr ash-Shughur. The highway between Ariha and Latakia (96 km) is constructed by Al-Kharafi construction company, applying the international motorway specifications. Its length is 120 km. Assuming that it shares some 60 km with the Motorway M5, it arrives until
Aleppo, and from there, it has been expanded as a two-lane expressway (from Abu-Al-Zenden and beyond) that continues further east into the
Iraqi border in
Al-Yaarubiyah, ultimately reaching its destination at
Mosul. The eastern part of the motorway •
M5 (
M45) – This is the most important motorway in the country, due to its length and as it functions as the south–north backbone of the country network. It connects the
border with Jordan in the south with
Damascus, the capital, and continues further north to
Aleppo, the country's second largest city. Its length is . •
M20 – The corridor which
M1 part of. Also known as Desert Highway. Runs from
Palmyra to
Deir ez-Zor, it also connects
Al-Sukhnah. Its length is . •
M15 – Also known as Aleppo - Raqqa motorway. Runs from Aleppo to Raqqa through
Mansoura and
Tabqa District. The motorway continues as a two-lane expressway until reaching
Bokamal. • Damascus International Airport Motorway – Runs from Al-Motahallik Al-Janobi (
Damascus Southern Bypass Ring) and ends in
Damascus International Airport Key Highways There are honorable mentions of highways that are a part of the road network in Syria. Note: The old road numbering system is now deprecated and will be replaced later. The local M- numbering system based on the old system applied to alternative trunk highways and motorways (That is: 1 → M1, 2 → M2, 4 → M4, 5 → M5). The key highways are the following: •
Aleppo: • Route 214 (
Gaziantep -
Aleppo Highway): A 2/2 expressway running from Aleppo city to Turkish border between
Azaz and
Killis. The northern entrance of Aleppo city until the
Carrefour mall has been recently rehabilitated, refurbishing the island
median strip, placing new
light posts and repairing sidewalks. The
Jersey barrier that starts from
Haritan will be rehabilitated, closing improper returns caused by random accidents and random returns created by the councils of the cities near the highway, causing multiple accidents. The route has 4 incomplete bridges. • Route 60 (
Idlib -
Aleppo): Runs from the Southern bypass ring as a complement. The route has a portion of M45 that ends in
Urum Al-Sughra then navigates to
Bab Al-Hawa. The route passes through
Kafar Halab,
Binnish,
Idlib city and the western Idlib governate, ending ultimately in
Salqin and connecting to Route 56. The portion between
Khan Al-Asal and the Southern bypass ring has been expanded as a 2/2 lanes expressway with Jersey barrier median to connect to the southern bypass ring. • Southern bypass ring: Runs from M5 highway, passing through Al-Ramousah area and ending ultimately in
Aleppo International Airport interchange. The highway has 3/3 lanes. •
Idlib: •
M45 (Bab Al-Hawa - Tal Al-Karama, officially called Bab Al-Hawa - Aleppo): The first portion of M45 corridor before the M5 highway, running from Bab Al-Hawa to Tal Al-Karama passing through
Sarmada roundabout. The highway between Bab Al-Hawa and Sarmada has been upgraded to 3/3 lanes expressway with island median since 2023. The highway has been upgraded into 2/2 lanes expressway since 2021. There are efforts to widen the highway in Tal Al-Karama and beyond to reduce the traffic congestion. • Route 420 (Bab Al-Hawa - Sarmada - Idlib): Runs from Sarmada to Idlib, passing through Hezzano and
Maarrat Masrin and ultimately ending in the northern interchange of Idlib city. The route has been upgraded since 2022 to become a 2/2 (Sarmada - Hezzano) to 3/3 (Hezzano - Idlib) lanes with Jersey barrier as a median from Sarmada to Hezzano and island median from Hezzano to Idlib. This highway is one of the successful highways in Syria, putting Idlib as a primary linkage between Bab Al-Hawa and the M5 highway and the best choice to depart from Bab Al-Hawa to Damascus and beyond, although M45 runs through Aleppo and not Idlib. •
Homs: • Route 42 (
Homs -
Raqqa): Runs from Homs city and passes through
Salamyia, ending ultimately in Raqqa city. • M5 bypass ring: Runs from the northern entrance of Homs, interchanging with M1 motorway and ending with the rest of M5 highway. The maps still indicates that M5 highways passes through Homs city although the bypass is operational •
Damascus: • Route 2 (
Al-Tanf -
Damascus): Runs from Al-Tanf and ultimately ends in the first northern interchange of Damascus. The route is a two-lane expressway and a part of
M30 • Al-Motahallik Al-Shamali (Northern bypass ring): Runs in the first northern interchange of Damascus and ends ultimately in the interchange between the ring and M2 motorway. The ring highway has 2/2 lanes with Jersey barrier as a median, supplied by light posts. The highway requires rehabilitation and maintenance. • Al-Motahallik Al-Janobi (Southern bypass ring): Runs in the second northern interchange of Damascus and ends ultimately in the interchange between the ring and
Al-mazzeh autostrada. The ring highway has 4/4 lanes with median, supplied by light posts. The ring is primary for M5 motorway complement, having a detour to leave Damascus towards the Jordan border.
Developments • 2022 – proposed east–west motorway between
Syrian–Iraqi border (
Abu Kamal) and
Tartus through
Homs. • 2023 – proposed north–south motorway linking the
Syrian-Turkish border in the north with the
Syrian-Jordanian border in the south through Aleppo, Homs and Damascus. • 2024 – Al-Rastan bridge has been bombed by the
Syrian Air Forces during the liberation, the
Syrian Civil Defense funded by the
UNDP is repairing the bridge, replacing 10 of 14 affected
girders. The maintenance will end in February 2026, delays are probable because of the weather conditions that affects the maintenance operation. • 2025 – bridge 46 located in Latakia governate has been partially damaged by the remnants of the fallen Bashar Al-Assad regime, closing the motorway in July 2025 for undergoing maintenance and requiring a 6 kilometers detour passed through the old Aleppo-Latakia Road to reach the motorway again. • 2026 – the bridges that forges through
Euphrates River have been blown-up during
the clashes between SDF and the Syrian army forces. There are more secondary developments to be mentioned: • Ministry of Transport has revived the motorway proposals to be under constructions later, discussing with the
Islamic Development Bank to fund the projects. • Ministry of Transport has recently checked the state of the roads in the northwestern area, specifying the following: • M10 – checked the state of the undergoing maintenance in the closed portion. • M45 – examined the incomplete Al-Tah bridge, the damaged
Khan Sheikhoun bridge, the motorway quality between north Hama and
Saraqib. (At the end of Saraqib, the motorway expands as a 3/3 lanes with Jersey barrier median, connecting Aleppo with Saraqib. See
M5 Motorway article for more details) • Idlib - Saraqib trunk highway has been examined and pended to be maintained • Idlib -
Al-Mastoumah -
Ariha expressway (Route 60a) will be widened from a two-lane expressway into a four-lane expressway, decreasing the congestion and the traffic between the two cities. The expressway is important for linking Idlib and Bab Al-Hawa with M10. • Damascus International Airport highway will be rehabilitated with the fund of
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