The works authorized by the Lebanese Authorities in Sept 1996 for the construction of the Southern Highway have been completed to the Litani River (Qasmiye), 12 km north of Tyre.

It should be noted that in the district of Tyre, the planned route crosses a very rich area, where 26 archaeological sites have so far been determined by various opportune discoveries and by numerous scientific reports.

Following the Roman Aqueduct from Ras el Ain to Tyre and cutting the wall of Paleo-Tyre, an enclosure of approximately ten kilometers in length built by Alexander the Great, (according to the map drawn up in 1802 by J.D.Barbie du Bocage), the route of the planned highway passes near Tell el Mashuq, which is considered by most archaeologists as the center of ancient Palao-Tyre. It is there that Renan placed the temple of Hercules Astrochiton and Movers the temple of Ashtarout. This site houses rock tombs adorned with magnificent frescoes, some of which, discovered by Dunand in 1937 can be seen at the National Museum in Beirut. The road from Borj el Chemali leading to Tyre is located, according to Mr. Bernard Fonquernie, the expert who was sent to Tyre on a mission by UNESCO en 1996,