Highway 40 is the most important highway of Saudi Arabia, linking the largest cities by crossing the entire country and Arabian desert. The 1,359 km highway connects Jeddah and Mecca on the west coast to Dammam on the east coast, passing through the capital of Riyadh on the way where it intersects with Highway 65, another of Saudi Arabia's most important road links in the centre of the country at .[1] The highway begins at Jeddah at linking with Highway 5 and ends in Dammam at .