Highway 2 (Israel)

Highway 2 (Hebrew: כביש 2‎, Kvish 2) is an Israeli highway located on the coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea. It stretches from Tel Aviv to Haifa. The highway is also called The Coastal Highway (Hebrew: כביש החוף‎, Kvish HaHof) or The New Haifa - Tel Aviv Highway (Hebrew: כביש חיפה - תל אביב החדש‎, Kvish Heifa - Tel Aviv HaHadash).

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

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 next 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. In 1965 the highway was widened to four lanes between Tel Aviv and Hadera, however grade separations were not built at this point.

The last section of the highway, between Olga Junction and Haifa, opened in 1969. When this section opened it was the first freeway in Israel. Deteriorating road conditions caused by years of neglect led to this section being downgraded from its original freeway status. Road signs on this section are still blue (as opposed to green on regular highways), however there are no signs indicating an entrance or exit from a freeway and the maximum speed limit is 90 km/h, as opposed to 100 or 110 on Israeli freeways.

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 entire 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.

Future plans

There are plans to continue the six lane section north to the Zikhron Ya'akov Interchange. These plans also include upgrading the remaining section between Zikhron Ya'aqov and Haifa back to freeway standards.

The Carmel Tunnels form a northern extension of Highway 2 to the Krayot area north of Haifa. When Highway 22 is completed, then it and the tunnels, together with Highway 2, the Ayalon Highway and Highway 4 will form a continuous limited-access, grade-separated route alongside nearly the entire Mediterranean coastline of Israel from Acre (Akko) to Ashdod (while a parallel, but more inland limited-access corridor will be provided by Highway 6 when it is fully built).

Interchanges