Highway 50 (Israel)

Highway 50
שדרות מנחם בגין\כביש בגין Sderot Menahem Begin/Kvish Begin
Menahem Begin Boulevard/Begin Expressway
Route information
Length:	13.5 km (8.4 mi) 16.2 km (10 mi) upon completion of Begin South
Existed:	June, 1998 – present
Major junctions
South end:	HaMinharot Junction (u.c.)
	Dov Yosef Interchange Malha Interchange Golomb Interchange Givat Mordechai Interchange Kiryat Moshe Interchange Givat Shaul Interchange Golda Meir Interchange Yigael Yadin Interchange Benzion Netanyahu Interchange
North end:	Atarot Junction
Location
Major cities:	Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Gilo, Beit Safafa, Malha/Manahat, Holyland, Katamonim, Bayit VeGan, Beit HaKerem, Givat Mordechai, Kiryat Moshe, Kiryat HaLeom, Givat Shaul, Har Hotzvim, Ramot, Beit Hanina, Atarot
Highway system
Roads in Israel Highways

Highway 50, officially called Begin Boulevard (Hebrew: שדרות בגין‎‎, Sderot Begin) and also referred to as Menachem Begin Expressway or Begin Highway, is an urban freeway in western Jerusalem named after Israel's sixth Prime Minister, Menachem Begin. Local Jerusalemites simply refer to it as 'Begin' (pron. IPA 'bei-gin).

Route

The road follows a south-north path that connects key neighborhoods and commercial areas, as well as several city arteries and national routes. Beginning at the Tunnels Junction, the road travels North-west through Gilo and Malha to Golomb Junction, whence the road travels northward below the high ridge of the Holyland neighborhood to the west. To the east is Emek Hatzva'im (Gazelle Valley), a green zone which was previously leased to Kiryat Anavim and Ma'ale HaHamisha and used for agricultural purposes.^[1] Further on, the path was excavated to create a depressed roadway between Bayit Vegan, Givat Mordechai, Ramat Beit HaKerem & Givat Ram. This section is equipped with noise barriers and speed cameras.^[2]

The road then passes through two tunnels under Jaffa Road and the busy western entrance to Jerusalem. Winding down the western and northern slopes below Romema, the road steeply descends 150 meters into Emek HaArazim (Valley of Cedars) with interchanges at Golda Meir Blvd (Route 436) and Yigal Yadin Blvd (Highway 1). Passing between Ramot and Ramat Shlomo, the road continues through the west bank passing Beit Hanina, Bir Nabala and Atarot. Finally at Atarot Junction, Highway 50 officially becomes Highway 45 providing a continuous connection to Route 443 to Modi'in and the Tel Aviv area.

History

Old designation

Begin Boulevard is made of the central section, which was completed two years ahead of schedule in June, 1998,^[3] and the northern extension completed in late 2002^[4]

Since its construction, the road was called national Route 404.^[5] In internal Jerusalem Municipality documentation, it was known as Jerusalem Road 4. In 2012, the Israel Ministry of Transport and the Jerusalem Municipality began using the designation 50.^[6][7] New blue "Highway 50" signs were posted by the National Roads Company of Israel to reflect this change.^[8][9][10] The Moriah-Jerusalem Development Corporation, responsible for road construction in Jerusalem also uses the designation, 50.

50/20

In the north, the "50/20 Interchange Project" was approved in 2010 along with the new Jerusalem Road 20 through Beit Hanina following AbdulHamid Shomaan St. and Hizma Rd. to Sayeret Duchifat Blvd. Construction was begun in 2011. This route alleviates heavy traffic at Sha'ar Mizrach Junction (Highway 1 and Route 60) by providing an alternative route via Begin to central Jerusalem and Route 443 to Tel Aviv for residents of Beit Hanina, Shuafat, Pisgat Ze'ev and Neve Ya'akov.^[11][12] The preliminarily named "50/20 Interchange" was officially opened on May 5, 2013 and renamed after Benzion Netanyahu, the Israeli historian and father of Benjamin Netanyahu.^[13]

Begin South

The "Begin South Project", first planned in 1990, involves widening Begin Boulevard from 4 to 6 lanes and extending it as a freeway past its current southern terminus to connect with Route 60 at the Tunnels Road in Gilo to Gush Etzion.^{[14][15][16][17][18]} Construction proceeded in stages beginning in 2010 to widen the highway between Givat Mordechai Interchange and Golomb Junction. At the same time, reconstruction of sewer lines further south was completed in order to accommodate the lowering of the highway to pass under Golomb Boulevard and local streets next to the Malha Mall, Teddy Stadium and the Jerusalem Malha Railway Station with interchange access to these locations. In 2013, a tunnel was built creating the new Golomb Interchange and work proceeded lowering the road past the Malha Mall and Teddy Stadium with service roads on either side. This first stage was completed at the end of 2014.

Further south, past the Malha Railway Station, the highway continues through the neighborhood of Sharafat with the completion of the second stage and the opening of Dov Yosef Interchange in March, 2015.

Current Roadworks

Begin South

Construction continues on the final stage of the Begin South project between Dov Yosef Boulevard and Rosmarin Street. Through the neighborhood of Beit Safafa, despite the residents' objections and requests for a tunnel, the highway will continue as a slightly depressed roadway with a 200 meter wide, park-covered bridge at al-Qa'ash St. connecting the south-west corner of the neighborhood with its center.^[12][19][20] Ongoing litigation between the residents and the municipality regarding the proximity of the highway to houses and the desire for additional crossing points has, as yet, not been resolved.^[21] Construction of ramps to Rosmarin Street is expected to be completed by the Spring of 2016,^[22] while the full Rosmarin Interchange with tunnels is scheduled to be completed by September, 2017.^[23][24] The total cost for the project is expected to reach 1.1 B Shekels.^[6][25]

Future

In the center, a plan has been published to connect Begin Boulevard at Givat Mordechai Interchange to Highway 1 at the new Motza Interchange via the new Jerusalem Road 16. The road would travel mostly through a series of tunnels under the parking lots of Shaare Zedek Medical Center and the west Jerusalem neighborhhods of Yefeh Nof and Har Nof. In the center, the above ground Nahal Revida Interchange would lead to Givat Shaul. This would create another entrance to Jerusalem to ease the traffic congestion at the Ben Gurion Blvd./Jaffa Road entrance and provide direct access to south Jerusalem from the west.^[26] Expected to be completed by 2018, the plan still has to pass stiff resistance on ecological grounds due to the above ground section at Nahal Revida located in the Jerusalem Forest.^[27]

Interchanges (South to North)

Northward toward Kiryat Moshe Interchange
with noise barriers

Northward toward Givat Shaul Interchange

Northward at Yigal Yadin Interchange

Northward approaching Atarot Junction

km	Name	Type	Meaning	Location	Road(s) Crossed
↓Jerusalem Municipality↓
0	צומת המנהרות (HaMinharot Junction), מחלף רוזמרין (Rosmarin Interchange)		The Tunnels, Rosemary	Gilo & Beit Safafa neighborhoods	HaRosmarin St., Highway 60 (Tunnels Road to Gush Etzion)
1.5	מחלף דב יוסף (Dov Yosef Interchange)[28][29]		named after Dov Yosef	Gilo, Beit Safafa & Sharafat neighborhoods	Dov Yosef Blvd.
2	Green Line
2.7	מחלף מלחה (Malha Interchange)		named after location	Malha Mall, Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem Tennis Center, Malha Railway Station, Jerusalem Technology Park, Jerusalem Arena, Malha/Manahat neighborhood	Beitar Sport Assn. Rd., David Ayalon St., HaPoel Sport Assn. Rd., Maccabi Sport Assn Rd., Yitzhak Moda'i St., David Benvenisti St.
3.3	Tunnels 6 lanes, 240 meters				Eliyahu Golomb Blvd.
3.4	מחלף גולומב (Golomb Interchange) [Note1]			Holyland, Malha/Manahat & Katamonim neighborhoods	Eliyahu Golomb Blvd., Beitar Sport Assn. Rd.
4.4	מנהרות בייט Beyth Tunnels 4 lanes, 310 metres				Shmuel Beyth St., Bezalel Bazak St.
4.6	מחלף גבעת מרדכי (Givat Mordechai Interchange)		Mordechai's Hill	Givat Mordechai, Ramat Beit HaKerem & Bayit Vegan neighborhoods	Shmuel Beyth St., Bezalel Bazak St., Jerusalem Road 16 (planned)
6.4	מחלף קרית משה (Kiryat Moshe Interchange)		Moses' Town	Kiryat HaLeom (National Precinct) & Kiryat Moshe neighborhoods	Yitzhak Rabin St.
7	Tunnels 6 lanes, 570 metres				Shazar Blvd., Herzl Blvd., Weizmann Blvd., Jaffa Road
7.8	מחלף גבעת שאול (Givat Shaul Interchange) (northbound entrance) (southbound exit)		Saul's Hill	Givat Shaul neighborhood	Ben Gurion Blvd., Givat Shaul St. Weizmann Blvd., (to Jaffa Road)
9.3	מחלף גולדה מאיר (Golda Meir Interchange ) (southbound entrance) (northbound exit)		Named after Golda Meir	Har Hotzvim High-Tech Park, Ramot neighborhood	Route 436 (Golda Meir Blvd.)
10.1	Green Line
10.2	מחלף יגאל ידין (Yigael Yadin Interchange)		Named after Yigael Yadin	North entrance to Jerusalem, Ramot & Ramat Shlomo neighborhoods	Highway 1 (Jerusalem Road 9/ Yigael Yadin Blvd.)
↑Jerusalem Municipality↑
12.5	מחלף בן ציון נתניהו (Benzion Netanyahu Interchange)[13]		named after Benzion Netanyahu	Beit Hanina neighborhood	Jerusalem Road 20 (Abdul Hamid Shomaan St.) to Pisgat Ze'ev
16.2	צומת עטרות (Atarot Junction)		Crowns	Atarot Industrial Park	Highway 45 (to Route 443)

^{note 1} Upon completion, "Golumb Interchange" is expected to be renamed "Yitzhak Shamir Interchange" after Israel's 7th Prime Minister.^[30]

Transport in Israel
Roads	Highways 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 12 13 20 22 23 25 31 34 35 38 40 41 42 44 45 46 50 55 57 60 65 66 70 71 73 75 77 79 80 85 87 89 90 91 92 98 99 Routes 171 227 264 293 386 404 411 412 417 431 436 443 458 471 505 508 531 578 864 866 886 888 899 918 959 977 978 999
Bus operators	Afikim Dan Dan BaDarom Egged Egged Ta'avura Illit Kavim Metrodan Beersheba Metropoline Metronit Nateev Express Superbus Night bus lines
Rail transport	Intercity Israel Railways Urban Jerusalem Light Rail Carmelit Tel Aviv Light Rail (under construction) Tel Aviv Metro (planned)
Sea ports	Ashdod Eilat Haifa
Aviation	Major Airports Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion Eilat-Ramon (under construction) Airlines El Al (Sun d'Or Up) Arkia Israir Airlines
Cable cars	Haifa cable cars Masada cableway
By city	Beersheba Bnei Brak Jerusalem Petah Tikva Tel Aviv
Smart cards	Rav-Kav
Israel Port Authority, Israel Airports Authority, Vehicle registration plates, Road signs

References

Coordinates: 31°48′07″N 35°12′08″E / 31.80194°N 35.20222°E / 31.80194; 35.20222