Skip to main content

Jerusalem bottleneck route to be upgraded

The upgrading of Highway 1 between Sha'ar Hagay and the entrance to Jerusalem, Israel, a 2.5 billion NIS project (US$733 million), is expected to take five years to complete.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
The upgrading of Highway 1 between Sha'ar Hagay and the entrance to Jerusalem, Israel, a 2.5 billion NIS project (US$733 million), is expected to take five years to complete.

Highway 1 is the main highway connecting Tel Aviv with Jerusalem, and is heavily congested, especially at the entrances to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The section between Sha'ar Hagay and Jerusalem is also congested at times because of the many accidents and breakdowns caused by the high slopes and winding nature of the section.

The latest works include shortening the route by several kilometres; expanding the road to three lanes in each direction and constructing interchanges, tunnels and bridges.

The work will be executed by INRC, which will publish tenders for the project over the coming months.

According to the plan, the road segment between the Sha'ar Hagay and Shoresh interchanges will be elevated so as not to damage surroundings and the environment. A new interchange will be built in Ramat Ilan, 700m before the Shoresh interchange, and an ecological bridge will be built that will connect the two sides of the highway and enable pedestrians and animals to cross the road.

The road to Abu Gosh, Ein Rafa and Ein Nakuba  will run under the main highway, while the old Ein Hemed Bridge will be replaced with a new bridge.

Harel interchange will also be replaced by two 650m long tunnels that will pass under the crest and improve access to Mevaseret Zion. Nearby, a park and go parking area will be built with shuttle services to Jerusalem and back.

At the Motza Curve, the dangerous section will be removed and two parallel 800m long bridges will be constructed over the Motza Valley, Arazim Valley and Arza Stream, each with three lanes.

At the entrance to Jerusalem, it is planned that the constant traffic jams will be ended with the connection to Road 9 leading to the north of the city, and Road 16 that will be constructed in the future connecting Motza to Givat Mordechai, providing an additional entrance south of the city. An interchange will be built at Ginot Sakharov.

INRC has also published a tender for the construction of an interchange at Golani Junction, one of the worst bottlenecks in northern Israel. It will become an interchange within three years. The junction lies on the roads between central Israel and Tiberias.

The project, part of the Israel Routes programme will cost some NIS 350 million ($102.5 million).

The interchange will be the first of seven interchanges that will be built along Road 77 in order to create an uninterrupted and unsignalised route from the centre to the north of Israel.

Related Content

  • New bridges, ramp and tunnel for Dubai
    February 19, 2020
    New flyover bridges, a ramp and a tunnel connection are being built in Dubai.
  • Work begins on Stockholm’s new bypass
    August 22, 2016
    The first tunnels are being excavated for the huge bypass tunnel in Sweden’s capital Stockholm – Adrian Greeman writes. After years of preparation and design, blasting and rock moving for Sweden's largest infrastructure project began south of the city this year. It sets in train a decade-long project that will create a new half-ring dual three-lane motorway for the city, 20km long. With most of it deep underground, it will also be one of Europe's largest ever road tunnels. The scheme is aimed at transformin
  • Speed and precision make for perfect tunnelling combination
    May 21, 2014
    Speed and precision have been the hallmarks of a number of major road tunnelling projects across the globe over the last 12 months, as the latest sector equipment from leading manufacturers has found itself in high demand. Guy Woodford reports Herrenknecht tunnel boring machines (TBM) have been busy tunnelling under major Chinese rivers, demonstrating phenomenal speed, top safety levels and extreme precision while playing a key role in the construction of road tunnels in the Yangtze River Delta. The Yang
  • German highway contract for STRABAG
    August 10, 2021
    A major German highway contract will be worked on by STRABAG.