Jerusalem Road 16

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Highway 16
כביש 16
Route information
Length4.7 km (2.9 mi)
HistoryCompletion 2023
Major junctions
west endMotza Interchange
Major intersectionsNahal Revida Interchange
Beyth Interchange
east endGivat Mordechai
Highway system
  • Highways
View west across Nahal Revida Valley
Site of the future Nahal Revida Interchange
Construction works for the Har Nof tunnel, photograph taken from Jerusalem Forest
Construction works for the Yefe Nof tunnel and the Beyth intersection. In the background, left to right: Bayit VeGan neighborhood, Shaare Zedek hospital, Ramat Beit Hakerem neighborhood

Highway 16 is a highway under construction intended to alleviate frequent traffic congestion at the Ben Gurion Boulevard/Jaffa Road western entrance to Jerusalem and provide direct access to the southern and central sections of the city from the west. Most of the road will be located inside newly-built tunnels. The project will cost approximately 1.5 billion shekels and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.[1][2][3][4][5]

Highway[]

The planned Highway would connect Highway 1 at the new Motza Interchange and Jerusalem's Highway 50 (Begin Boulevard) at Givat Mordechai Interchange. The road would travel mostly through a series of tunnels under the west Jerusalem neighborhoods of Har Nof and Yefeh Nof and the parking lots of Shaare Zedek Medical Center. In the center, an above ground interchange would be built in the valley of Nahal Revida (Revida Stream) adjacent to the Pi Glilot Fuel Terminal to connect to Derech Yosef Weitz leading to Givat Shaul. The road would be constructed as a four lane freeway with a speed limit of 80 km/h.

History[]

The road was first proposed in the 1990s. Originally, the road was supposed to skirt around the western and southern slopes of Har Nof before entering a tunnel at Nahal Revida continuing eastward under Yefeh Nof. This would have created nearly a kilometer of fully open road through the Jerusalem Forest. This plan was met with stiff opposition by the Jewish National Fund and a variety of "Green" groups due to ecological damage to the forest. As a result, the plan was changed to include a tunnel under Har Nof with an intermediate above-ground interchange at Nahal Revida.[6]

The program was stopped in 2003 to conduct environmental studies and consider an alternative to the Nahal Revida Interchange. By the end of 2007, the National Infrastructure Committee decided to adopt the plan pending clarifications and public review. In 2010, the plan again moved forward with an indemnity agreement between the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Ministry of Transport. At the same time, responsibility for building the road was shifted from the Moriah Jerusalem Development Corporation to the National Roads Company of Israel. Economic and environmental studies were updated. A plan to build the road as one long tunnel with Nahal Ravida Interchange underground was rejected both for economic reasons and because of the need for massive ventilation facilities that would cause greater environmental damage to the forest.[6]

The plan was approved in 2011, again with further delays pending public review.[7] At the end of 2012, according to the National Roads Company, the plan has been approved and budgeted. After many delays, the contract for construction was finally awarded in August 2018, with construction expected to begin in 2019 and last through 2023.[5]

Following the death of Talmudic scholar and former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Ovadia Yosef in 2013, Israeli Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz announced that the road would be named in his honor.[8] However, the Jerusalem Municipality Names Committee, which has jurisdiction in the matter, declared in 2017 that the road would be named in honor of former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon.[9]

Construction Accident[]

On June 7, 2021, a portion of the Shaare Zedek hospital's external parking lot collapsed.[10] Seven parked cars fell into the sinkhole, which was deep enough to "swallow" a whole palm tree vertically, as well.[11][12] There were no reported victims, either killed or wounded. A cave or space between the ground and excavated tunnel seems to be the cause of the sinkhole.[13] Later, in August, Netivei Israel's spokeman said "We are exercising responsibility by repairing the hole", adding "responsibility is not guilt" because "there is also a separate issue regarding water from the Gihon water company that had permeated the ground due to insufficient drainage. It is also possible that we will never know the cause.".[14]

Planned Interchanges (west to east)[]

km Name Type Meaning Location Road(s) Crossed
Planned (Completion: 2023)
0 מחלף מוצא
(Motza Interchange) 		AB-AS-blau.svgILjunction-motza-prelim-tan.PNG Origin Motza,
Beit Zayit 		ISR-FW-1.svg Highway 1
1.2 Har Nof tunnel
4 lanes, 1.5 km 		AB-Tunnel.svgAB-Tunnel.svg under Har Nof
2.8 מחלף נחל רבידה
(Nahal Revida Interchange) 		AB-AS-blau.svgILjunction-nahalrevida1tan.png Revida Stream Givat Shaul Derech Yosef Weitz.
2.9 Yefe Nof tunnel
4 lanes, 1.3 km 		AB-Tunnel.svgAB-Tunnel.svg under Yefeh Nof &
parking lots of
Shaare Zedek
Medical Center
4.2 מחלף בייט
(Beyth Interchange) 		AB-AS-blau.svgILjunction-beyth-prelim-tan.PNG named after
Hans (Shmuel) Beyth 		Ramat Beit HaKerem,
Bayit Vegan 		Shmuel Beyth St.
4.7 מחלף גבעת מרדכי
(Givat Mordechai Interchange) 		AB-AS-blau.svgILjunction-givat-mordechai.png Mordechai's Hill Givat Mordechai ISR-FW-50.svg Highway 50
(Begin Boulevard),
Bezalel Bazak St.

References[]

  1. ^ "Road 16, New entrance to Jerusalem, between Motza and Begin Highway". Israel Ministry of Transport, National Infrastructure & Road Safety. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2012-12-02.(in Hebrew)
  2. ^ "Road 16, Between the Motaz Curve and Begin Highway in Jerusalem". National Roads Company of Israel. Archived from the original on 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2012-12-02.(in Hebrew)
  3. ^ "Roads Planned and Under Construstion". Jerusalem Transport Master Plan Committee. Retrieved 2011-08-23.(in Hebrew)
  4. ^ "Jerusalem Transportation Network-map". Jerusalem Transport Master Plan Committee. Archived from the original on 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2011-08-23.(in Hebrew)
  5. ^ a b "כביש 16 - ציר הגישה הנוסף לירושלים: נבחרה זוכה במכרז". 30 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Save the Jerusalem Forest: Road 16". Forum of Organizations for the Jerusalem Forest. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
  7. ^ Sharon Udasin (2011-07-12). "Ministry okays paving road, cutting J'lem-TA travel time". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2013-07-22.
  8. ^ Gil Ronen (2011-10-13). "New Jerusalem Road to be Named after Rabbi Ovadia". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  9. ^ Meirav Arad (2017-12-28). "The new entrance road to Jerusalem will be named after Ariel Sharon". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  10. ^ Jerusalem Post Staff (2021-06-07). "WATCH: Parking lot collapses into sinkhole at Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  11. ^ Alon Hachmon (2021-06-07). "View Documentation: A parking lot collapsed at Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem" (in Hebrew). Maariv. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  12. ^ CNN (2021-06-08). "Watch sinkhole swallow up parked cars in Jerusalem". CNN. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  13. ^ Jerusalem Post Staff (2021-06-08). "Shaare Zedek sinkhole caused by highway tunnel excavations - report". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  14. ^ Zev Stub (2021-08-17). "Two months after Shaare Zedek sinkhole, still no answers". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2021-08-17.

External links[]

Coordinates: 31°46′44″N 35°10′51″E / 31.77889°N 35.18083°E / 31.77889; 35.18083

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