Mecca , Saudi Arabia ( CNN ) -- Chanting `` Allahu Akbar '' -- God is Greater than any -- more than 2 million pilgrims crossed new pedestrian bridges Saturday to perform one of the last rituals of the Hajj season . Jamarat is a re-enactment of an event when Prophet Abraham stoned the devil and rejected his temptations , according to Muslim traditions . The ritual stoning of three pillars , which occurs in the tent city of Mina -- about two miles from Mecca , was the scene of stampedes and many deaths in the 1980s and 1990s as pilgrims passed a crowded bottleneck area leading to the small pillars on the ground . But this year the Saudi government completed a new project that avoids past congestion at the site . The government has erected three massive pillars and completed a $ 1.2 billion , five-story bridge nearby where pilgrims can toss stones . Authorities and pilgrims say it 's a roomier atmosphere and more efficient way to accommodate the faithful . `` Everything went fine so far , '' Col. Khakled Qarar Mohammadi , head of the emergency forces at Jamarat , told CNN . `` It is an immense responsibility that we had to deal with . About 3 million pilgrims move in a small geographic area at the same time wanting to do the same ritual . So we have been preparing for this for years now . '' Irtiza Hasan , a pilgrim from the United States , said all went well at the ceremony . `` The only incident I saw was that there were some handicapped women who were turned away in fears that they get hurt . '' But Mohammadi said , `` There are 10 vans on the second floor especially designated to serve the elderly and handicapped . Each van can take up to 14 pilgrims . '' As a measure to alleviate harm , according to Muslim traditions , the elderly and the handicapped can appoint someone else to stone for them . The five-story Jamarat bridge is air-conditioned at 19 degrees Centigrade , or 66 Fahrenheit , throughout the day and backed by water sprinklers that can reduce the temperature to about 29 degrees C , or 84 F. The bridge is designed to allow the addition of seven more levels to hold as many as 5 million pilgrims in the future if the need arises . According to authorities , the bridge is 950 meters ( 1,039 yards ) long and 80 meters ( 87 yards ) wide . Each floor is 12 meters ( 13 yards ) high with three tunnels and 12 entrances and 12 exits in six directions . It has a helicopter pad for emergencies . According to Mohammadi , the project has 509 advanced closed-circuit television cameras monitoring pilgrims ' movements . Those cameras feed into the main operations room , which oversees the Jamarat Bridge and the surrounding areas -- all screened by dozens of security officers on 72 monitors at the operation room . The stoning ritual is done over at least two days , where pilgrims stone three pillars at Mina -- believed to be where the Prophet Abraham stoned the devil when he tried to dissuade him from obeying God 's orders to slaughter his son . According to tradition , the event was a test from God , who gave Abraham a ram to slaughter instead . The last ritual that marks the end of Hajj is when pilgrims go from Mina to Mecca to make a last visit to al-Masjid al-Haram , Islam 's holiest site , before going back home . The ritual is called Tawaf al-Wada ' a -- or farewell circumambulation in the holy mosque . It 's where pilgrims go around the black cube seven times counter-clockwise asking that their Lord accept their pilgrimage and grant them another visit to the holy city .
Goverment built three new massive concrete , five - storey bridges for Hajj pilgrims . Jamarat re - enacts Abraham 's stoning the devil , according to Muslim tradition . Ritual was scene of deadly stampedes as pilgrims crammed through bottleneck . The air - conditioned bridge is 950 meters long , 80 meters wide ; each floor is 12 meters high .