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Highway 5 or the Trans-Samaria Highway (Hebrew: כביש חוצה שומרון, Kvish Hotze Shomron), is one of Israel's main highways, connecting the Mediterranean coast immediately north of Tel Aviv with the central Sharon plain and eastwards to Ariel and other Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank.
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| כביש 5 | ||||
| Trans-Samaria Highway כביש חוצה שומרון | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 37 km (23 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end | West Glilot Interchange | |||
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| East end | Ariel Junction | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Israel | |||
| Major cities | Ramat HaSharon, Hod HaSharon, Petah Tikva, Rosh HaAyin, | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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The name Highway 5 is commonly used to describe the section of the highway running from the road's western end at the Glilot Interchange until it reaches the main entrance of Ariel. In this capacity it intersects and creates a connection between four important arterial freeways in the northern Tel Aviv area: The Coastal Highway (Highway 2), the Ayalon Highway (Highway 20), Geha Highway (Highway 4) and the Cross-Israel Highway (Highway 6).[1]
An alternate name for the entire highway is Kvish Hotze Shomron meaning the Trans-Samaria Highway though often this name is used when referring specifically to the section of the road in the West Bank, i.e., past the Green Line, where it continues east towards the Jordan Valley in the West Bank. This section from the Green Line to its eastern end has also been dedicated as "Derekh Haim" (Haim's Road, but also "Way of Life") after the late Haim Landau, a former Israeli Minister of Transportation.
History
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Highway 5 initially reached Rosh HaAyin located inside of the green line, and served mainly the densely populated Gush Dan metropolitan area. In the West Bank, the main road was still the old Road 505, which, since the events of the Second Intifada in 2000, has been partially closed to Jewish transportation.[2] In the beginning of the 1990s, with the growth of Ariel and the settlements around it, arose the need for a more modern and wider road, than the single-lane low-quality Road 505. Therefore, Highway 5 was extended some 20 km to the east of the Green Line, ending almost within sight of Ariel and serving the largest block of the Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank, counting about 50,000 people, as well as the Barkan Industrial Park. At the time, this section of Highway 5 was one of the biggest infrastructure projects that Israel had undertaken in the West Bank.[3][4] As of 2017 the road terminates at a roundabout at the Ariel junction where it merges into Road 505 which continues east past Ariel until Petza'el, which is located on Route 90, the north–south road parallel to the Israel-Jordan border in the Jordan Valley.
The western section of the highway consists of between 3 and 5 lanes in each direction, which reduces in number as the highway heads eastward. As of 2017, the westward section surrounding Gush Dan is one of the most congested in Israel.[5][6]
Highway 531, is a freeway which parallels Highway 5 and runs approximately 5–6 km to the north, was opened in 2017, and also contains a rail system. A toll fast lane project is planned along Highway 5.[6]
Interchanges and Junctions (West to East)
edit| District[7] | Location[8] | km | mi | Name | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | 0 | 0.0 | מחלף גלילות מערב (West Glilot Interchange) |   Highway 2 | |
| Ramat Hasharon | 1 | 0.62 | מחלף גלילות מזרח (East Glilot Interchange) |  Highway 20 | ||
| 1.7 | 1.1 | מחלף שדרות ירוב (Yariv Blvd. Interchange) | Aharon Yariv Blvd. | Eastbound only | ||
| 3.3 | 2.1 | מחלף הכפר הירוק (HaKfar HaYarok Interchange) |  Route 482 | Named after nearby HaKfar HaYarok | ||
| Ramat HaSharon (Morasha quarter) | 5.8 | 3.6 | מחלף מורשה (Morasha Interchange) |  Highway 4 | ||
| Central | Petah Tikva | 8 | 5.0 | מחלף תקווה (Tikva Interchange) | Zevulun Hammer Road | |
| Petah Tikva Hod HaSharon | 10.5 | 6.5 | מחלף ירקון (Yarkon Interchange) |  Highway 40 | Named after nearby Yarkon River | |
| Rosh HaAyin | 13.5 | 8.4 | מחלף קסם (Kessem Interchange) |  Highway 6 Route 444 | Named after nearby Kafr Qasim | |
| Rosh HaAyin Kfar Qasim | 17 | 11 | מחלף ראש העין צפון (Rosh HaAyin North Interchange) |  Road 5050 | ||
| Green Line | ||||||
| Judea and Samaria | Oranit Elkana | 21 | 13 | מחלף שער שומרון (Samaria Gate Interchange) |  Route 505 | |
Qasim Security Checkpoint NO westbound through-traffic for green (Palestinian Authority) license plates | ||||||
| Judea and Samaria | Bruchin Bruqin | 33 | 21 | מחלף ברוכין (Bruchin Interchange) |  Route 446 | |
| Barkan | 35 | 22 | מחלף ברקן (Barkan Interchange) |  Road 4765 | ||
| Revava Haris | 37 | 23 | צומת גיתי (Gitai Junction) | Route 505 | Western end of concurrency with Route 505 | |
| Ariel Kifl Haris | 40 | 25 | צומת אריאל (Ariel Junction) | Route 505 | Eastern end of concurrency with Route 505 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
edit- ^ Fodor's Essential Israel, Fodor's Travel Guides, Car Travel
- ^ Hotze Shomron Reopens Without IDF Checkpoint, YNET, 24 Oct 2000
- ^ "Kvish Hotze Shomron - Splits the People", Mapam Demonstrators Shouted at Dedication of Road, Maariv, 7 Aug 1987
- ^ The Road is Not a Luxury, Maariv, 9 Aug 1987
- ^ The Solution to Traffic Jams: Half a Road for Buses and Half for Rich People, TheMarker, 13 Sep 2016
- ^ a b Millions of Commuters Stuck on the Roads: 10 Worst Traffic Jams in Israel: Route 5: An Hour and a Half From Rosh Hayin to Tel-Aviv, Haaretz, 22 May 2017
- ^ Survey of Israel (October 31, 2018). "מחוזות משרד הפנים" [Ministry of Interior districts] (Map). Govmap (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ Survey of Israel (October 31, 2018). "גבולות ישובים" [Locality borders] (Map). Govmap (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 31, 2018.