BEIRUT: Metn residents will hold their biggest sit-in yet Tuesday to pressure the government to construct a replacement for the dismantled Jal al-Dib Bridge, and have vowed to block the vital Beirut-Jounieh portion of the country's main highway.

Emblazoned on a large banner hung on the pedestrian bridge of Jal al-Dib was an apology to the people from the protestors and a statement saying that the road will be blocked from 7 a.m. until the afternoon.

“We want a tunnel, not hypocrisy,” the banner also read.

Residents have been protesting the lack of a replacement overpass since the Jal al-Dib bridge, built in 1975, was dismantled in early February for safety reasons. They have blocked the highway on several occasions, causing heavy traffic.

Proposals made by an independent group of engineers representing Jal al-Dib’s residents and a number of other proposals by the Council of Development and Reconstruction have so far failed to be included in the Cabinet’s agenda for discussion.