Highway 2 (Hebrew: כביש 2, Kvish 2) is a highway located on the coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea in Israel. It begins as a major arterial road within Tel Aviv, becoming a freeway as it exits the city northward, continuing to Haifa. North of Tel Aviv, the highway is also called The Coastal Highway (Hebrew: כביש החוף, Kvish HaHof).[1]

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Highway 2
כביש 2
  • The Coastal Highway כביש החוף
  • The New HaifaTel Aviv Highway כביש חיפה - תל אביב החדש
Map
PikiWiki Israel 2888 Netanya גשר האחדות.jpg
Highway 2 nearby Netanya.
Route information
Length90 km (56 mi)
Major junctions
South endTel Aviv (Heil HaSiryon Interchange)
North endHaifa (Haifa South Interchange)
Location
CountryIsrael
Major citiesTel Aviv, Herzliya, Netanya, Hadera, Tirat Carmel, Haifa
Highway system
Highway 1 Highway 3

Highway 2 is one of the busiest highways in the country, and drivers experience frequent traffic congestion between Hadera and Tel Aviv during rush hours. The northern sections are also congested at times, especially during weekends and holidays, when many Israelis travel north for vacation.

History

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The first section of the highway between Tel Aviv and Netanya was built in the early 1950s as a two-lane road with at-grade intersections. The following section was built later that decade, extending the highway north to Olga Junction in Hadera. This section was also built as a two-lane road. It was widened to four lanes between Tel Aviv and Hadera in 1965. However, grade separations were not built.

The last section of the highway, between Olga Junction and Haifa, opened in 1969. When this section opened, it was Israel's first freeway. Deteriorating road conditions caused by years of neglect led to this section being downgraded from its original freeway status. Though road signs on this section are still blue (as opposed to green on regular highways), there are a few signs indicating an entrance or exit from a freeway, and the maximum speed limit is 90–110 km/h, making it an Israeli freeway.

The junctions on the older sections of the highway were gradually grade separated: Netanya Interchange was built in 1974, Poleg Interchange in 1975, Havazelet Interchange in 1989, Yanai Interchange in 1990, Olga Interchange in 1993, Hof HaSharon Interchange in 1994 and Rabin Interchange and HaSira Interchange in 1995. Today, the highway is grade-separated along its route between the Haifa South and West Glilot interchanges.

The Tel Aviv–Netanya section was widened to six lanes in the 1990s.

The West Glilot Interchange opened on February 28, 2007, providing a direct connection to eastbound Highway 5 and the Ayalon Highway.

Coastal roadway corridor

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The Carmel Tunnels form a northern extension of Highway 2, which connects directly to Highway 22 in the Krayot area north of Haifa. This northern extension, along with the Ayalon Highway and parts of Highway 4, make up a series of controlled-access highways that together form an inter-city highway corridor stretching along most of Israel's Mediterranean coast, from Acre (Akko) in the north to Ashdod in the south. In the future, a parallel but more inland controlled-access corridor will also be provided by Highway 6 when it is fully built.

Plans

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There are plans to continue the six-lane section north to the Zikhron Ya'akov Interchange. These plans also include upgrading the remaining part between Zikhron Ya'akov and Haifa to freeway standards. As part of this effort, works to rebuild and widen the division between Havatzelet HaSharon and the Olga interchange are expected to commence in 2020 for NIS1.2 billion (equivalent to US$330 million in 2018 dollars).

Interchanges

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District[2]Location[3]kmmiNameDestinationsNotes
Tel AvivHaTikva00.0מחלף חיל השריון
(Heil HaShiryon Interchange)
  Highway 20
0.20.12מחלף קיבוץ גלויות
(Kibbutz Galuyot Interchange)
HaKirya3.52.2מחלף קפלן
(Kaplan Interchange)
Kaplan Street
Shikun Lamed6.33.9גשר הירקון
(Yarkon Bridge)
Bnei Dan StreetNamed after nearby Yarkon River
6.64.1גשר רוקח
(Rokach Bridge)
Rochach Blvd.
Ramat Aviv
Ramat HaSharon
116.8מחלף גלילות מערב
(Glilot Ma'arav Interchange)
Named after location of former Jewish refugee camp Glilot
Herzliya138.1מחלף הסירה
(HaSira Interchange)
  Route 541
15.59.6מחלף רבין
(Rabin Interchange)
Keren Hayesod St.Named after Yitzhak Rabin
CentralRishpon1811מסעף רשפון
(Rishpon Branch)
HaKfar St.
Ga'ash1912מחלף רשפון – געש
(Rishpon – Ga'ash Interchange)
  Highway 20
Shefayim2113מחלף חוף השרון
(Hof HaSharon Interchange)
  Road 5514
Yakum2415מסעף יקום
(Yakum Branch)
local roadNorthbound only
Wingate Institute2516מסעף וינגייט
(Wingate Branch)
Entrance roadSouthbound only
Udim26.516.5מסעף אודים
(Udim Branch)
HaTse'elon St.Northbound only
Netanya2717מחלף פולג
(Poleg Interchange)
  Route 553Named after nearby Poleg Stream
2918מחלף גשר השלום
(Peace Bridge Interchange)
  Road 5611
3321מחלף נתניה
(Netanya Interchange)
  Highway 57
Havatzelet HaSharon3824מחלף חבצלת
(Havatzelet Interchange)
  Road 5710
Beit Yanai4125מחלף ינאי
(Yanai Interchange)
  Road 5720
HaifaHadera4528מחלף חרובים
(Cherubim Interchange)
  Highway 9
4830מחלף אולגה
(Olga Interchange)
Aaron Aaronsohn St.
Caesarea5132מחלף קיסריה
(Caesarea Interchange)
  Highway 65
Or Akiva5534מחלף אור עקיבא
(Or Akiva Interchange)
  Road 6511
Zikhron Ya'akov6540מחלף זכרון יעקב
(Zikhron Ya'akov Interchange)
  Highway 67
Atlit7949מחלף עתלית
(Atlit Interchange)
  Route 721
  Road 7110
Haifa9056מחלף חיפה דרום
(South Haifa Interchange)
  Highway 4
  Highway 23
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •       Proposed

References

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  1. ^ "הקמת כביש רוחבי חדש 531 - חיבור ערי השרון". 2013-10-15. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  2. ^ Survey of Israel (October 31, 2018). "מחוזות משרד הפנים" [Ministry of Interior districts] (Map). Govmap (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  3. ^ Survey of Israel (October 31, 2018). "גבולות ישובים" [Locality borders] (Map). Govmap (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
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KML is not from Wikidata
  • Video journey of the entire highway – The freeway section begins at the Glilot Interchange around 18m30s into the video. The Yarkon River bridge can be seen at 13m20s. The section between the Yarkon River bridge and the Glilot Interchange served as the main northern entrance to Tel Aviv until the Ayalon Highway was completed in the early 1990s.