Highway 44 (Israel)
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כביש 44 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Length | 41 km (25 mi) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
Northwest end | Holon Interchange | |||
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Southeast end | Shimshon Junction | |||
Location | ||||
Major cities | Tel Aviv-Yafo, Holon, Rishon LeZion, Ramla, Lod, to Beit Shemesh | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Highway 44 is an arterial road in central Israel. It connects Tel Aviv-Yafo and Holon to Ramla, Lod and the Shefela. It is numbered as a north–south road and follows a north-west to south-east path.
highway[]
Highway 44 begins in the coastal plain at the south-eastern edge of Tel Aviv at Holon Interchange with the Ayalon Highway. It travels south-easterly, passing Mikve Yisrael, Holon's industrial zones, and Azor. It then crosses Highway 4 at HaShiv'a Interchange. This section is named HaShiv'a Road in memory of seven guards killed in 1948. Southeast of HaShiv'a Interchange the road crosses Beit Dagan Junction with Route 412, which connects it with Rishon Letzion and Yehud. The road then passes the Volkani Institute, the Tzrifin Military base, Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center and various industrial parks.
As Highway 44 enters the municipality of Ramla, it is briefly named Herzl Boulevard. Historically, the road continued straight through beautiful downtown Ramla. Since the mid-1990s, the road makes a left turn at Ramla North Junction onto HaHashmoa'im Street, bypassing Ramla along its northern edge. Just east of Ramla, the road passes Ramlod Interchange with Highway 40 and rejoins the original route, continuing past the Nesher Industrial Zone and the Nesher Cement Factory, one of the most impressive landmarks in the area.
Historically, just past Nesher, the road connected at Gezer Junction with Route 424 to the Gezer Regional Council. That junction was moved 1 km. further south to accommodate Nesharim Interchange with Highway 6 and Route 431. The road then continues past several agricultural communities until Nachshon Junction. Until this point, the road has travelled with almost no changes in elevation, averaging 75 meters above sea level. After Nachshon Junction, it begins a slow ascent into the foothills of the Judean Mountains passing several more agricultural communities and national forests. The road finally ends at Shimshon Junction with Highway 38.
History[]
This road operated for many years as one of the main routes connecting the coastal plain with Jerusalem via Highway 38 and Sha'ar HaGai. In 1948, the Latrun section of the old road to Jerusalem (Highway 1) was taken over by Jordan. Traffic between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem was diverted to a new route called "Kvish HaGvura" (Road of Valor)[1] of which Highway 44 served as the connection between Nachshon Junction and Shimshon Junction with Highway 38 leading to Sha'ar HaGai.
Future[]
The Israel Ministry of Transport has announced a grade separation of Highway 44 with the Lod-Na'an Railway line at HaHashmonain Street adjacent to Ramla North Junction. The road will be raised to pass over the rail line. The estimated completion date is 2014 and the cost will be 160M Shekels.[2]
Junctions and Interchanges[]
![]() | This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table.(November 2021) |
Km | Name | Type | Meaning | Location | Intersecting routes |
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0 | מחלף חולון (Holon Interchange) |
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named after biblical location[3] (little) sand |
Tel Aviv-Yafo, Holon |
from Derech Ben-Zvi,![]() Levi Eshkol Blvd |
Derech HaShiv'a | |||||
2.4 | ![]() |
Holon, Azor |
HaMakhtesh St. | ||
2.9 | צומת אזור (Azor Junction) |
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Azor | Herzl St. | |
3.3 | ![]() |
Holon | HaMelakha St. | ||
3.7 | ![]() |
Azor | Kaplan St. | ||
4.8 | מחלף השבעה (HaShiv'a Interchange) |
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The Seven | Holon, Azor, Mishmar HaShiv'a |
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5.4 | westbound only | Mishmar HaShiv'a | Tzvi Zeira St. | ||
6.1 | צומת בית דגן (Beit Dagan Junction) |
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named after ancient location House of Dagon |
Rishon LeZion Beit Dagan |
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9 | צומת כפר חב"ד (Kfar Chabad Junction) |
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Chabad Village | Kfar Habad | ![]() |
9.7 | צומת ראשון מזרח (Rishon Mizrah Junction) |
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Rishon East | Rishon LeZion | Derech Chaim Herzog |
10.4 | צומת צריפין (Tzrifin Junction) |
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named after former location | Tzrifin Military Base, Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center, Camp Yadin |
entrance roads |
11.1 | ![]() |
Tzrifin Industrial Park, Sochnut Warehouses |
local road | ||
11.7 | ![]() |
New Wholesale Market, Kiryat Shlomo Industrial Park, Nir Tzvi Industrial Park |
local roads | ||
12.7 | צומת ניר צבי (Nir Tzvi Junction) |
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Zvi's Meadow | Be'er Ya'akov, Nir Tzvi |
Arava St.,![]() |
14.1 | Railway Crossing 2 tracks |
Ramla | |||
Herzl Boulevard | |||||
14.5 | צומת רמלה צפון (Ramla North Junction) |
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Ramla North | Ramla | Herzl Blvd. |
HaHashmona'im Street | |||||
14.9 | Railway Crossing 2 tracks |
Ramla | |||
15 | ![]() |
Ramla Lod |
HaHasmal St. to Yoseftal St. | ||
15.4 | north-westbound only | Ramla Lod |
Shmuel Tamir St. | ||
16.4 | צומת מעשיהו (Ma'asiyahu Junction) also called צומת תעבורה (Ta'avura Junction) |
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name for nearby Prison Transport |
Ramla Lod |
![]() (Tel-Hai St.) |
17.2 | מחלף רמלוד (Ramlod Interchange) |
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combination of Ramla and Lod |
Ramla Lod |
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17.8 | south-eastbound only | Ramla (east), al Mahta |
Herzl Blvd. | ||
18.1 | ![]() |
Nesher Industrial Zone |
Har Atzmon St. | ||
18.7 | צומת נשר (Nesher Junction) |
Eagle, named after nearby Nesher Cement Factory & ult. Rambam, the great Eagle |
Nesher Cement Factory |
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19 | מחלף נשרים (Nesharim Interchange) |
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Eagles | Ramla, Lod, Yad Rambam |
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20 | צומת גזר (Gezer Junction) |
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Carrot | Gezer Regional Council | ![]() |
20.4 | ![]() |
exit from![]() northbound | |||
22.8 | צומת בית אוזיאל (Beit Uziel Junction) |
House of Uziel | Beit Uziel | local road | |
24.3 | צומת פתחיה (Petahya Junction) |
Entrance of God | Petahya, Pedaya |
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27.4 | צומת כרמי יוסף (Karmei Yosef Junction) |
Yosef's Vineyards | Karmei Yosef | ![]() | |
30.4 | צומת נחשון (Nahshon Junction) |
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Pioneer (literary Hebrew) named after Operation Nachshon |
Mishmar David, Tal Shahar, Bekoa |
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Derech HaGvura | |||||
32 | צומת צלפון (Tzelafon Junction) |
named after ancient location possibly after Zelelponith ult. Shade come upon me |
Tzelafon Gizo |
HaZayit St. | |
33.2 | צומת הראל (Har'el Junction) |
named after Harel Brigade ult. Mountain of God |
Har'el | ![]() | |
34.4 | צומת כפר אוריה (Kfar Uria Junction) |
ult. remembrance of biblical story of Samson's encounter with the lion at Timnah[4] |
Kfar Uria | ![]() | |
36.9 | צומת תרום (Tarum Junction) |
Exalted | Tarum | ![]() | |
37.1 | צומת תעוז (Ta'oz Junction) |
Stronghold | Ta'oz | ![]() | |
41.1 | צומת שמשון (Shimshon Junction) |
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Named after biblical character Samson |
Eshtaol, Beit Shemesh |
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References[]
- ^ "Inauguration ceremony of Kvish HaGevurah". The Meitar Collection. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
switch to Hebrew for identification as 44
- ^ "Grade Separation - North entrance to Ramla". Ministry of Transport, National Infrastructure & Road Safety. Retrieved 2012-12-16.(in Hebrew)
- ^ Joshua 21:15
- ^ Judges 14:5
See also[]
- List of highways in Israel
Coordinates: 31°53′13″N 34°53′27″E / 31.88694°N 34.89083°E
- Roads in Israel