Highway 5 (Israel)
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|---|---|
| Cross Samaria Highway | |
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| Route information | |
| Length: | 37 km (23 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: | Tel Aviv (Glilot Junction) |
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| East end: | Ariel |
| Location | |
| Major cities: | Ramat HaSharon, Hod HaSharon, Petah Tikva, Rosh HaAyin, |
| Highway system | |
| Highways | |
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, known under the biblical name Samaria.
The name Highway 5 is commonly used to describe a section of the highway running from the road's western end at the Glilot Interchange until where it crosses the Green Line near Elkana. 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). An alternate name for the entire highway is Kvish Hotze Shomron (Cross-Samaria highway) though sometimes 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.
Highway 5 with its 3-5 high-capacity lanes in each direction initially reached only the up to the Green Line, and served mainly the densely populated Gush Dan area. In the West Bank, the main road was still the old Road 505, which is now partially closed to Jewish transportation. In the beginning of the 1990s, with the growth of Ariel and the settlements around it, arose the need for a more modern 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 massive Barkan Industrial Park. To this day, this section of Highway 5 remains one of the biggest infrastructure projects that Israel has undertaken in the West Bank.
On November 10, 2008, the last section from the Gitai Avisar Junction east of Barkan until Ariel was opened. From a roundabout at the Ariel junction, the highway 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.
Partly due to the heavy traffic congestion in the Gush Dan section of the road, construction is set to start in 2013 on Highway 531, a freeway which will parallel Highway 5 approximately 5-6 km to the north.
Interchanges
| km | Name | Type | Meaning | Location | Road(s) Crossed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | מחלף גלילות מערב (Glilot Ma'arav Interchange) |
  |
West Glilot | Tel Aviv |  Highway 2 |
| 1 | מחלף גלילות מזרח (Glilot Mizrah Interchange) |
|
East Glilot | Tel Aviv |  Ayalon Highway |
| 1.7 | מחלף שדרות ירוב (Yariv Blvd. Interchange) eastbound only |
  |
Glilot Army Base | Aharon Yariv Blvd. | |
| 3.3 | מחלף הכפר הירוק (HaKfar HaYarok Interchange) |
 |
Named after nearby HaKfar HaYarok |
Ramat HaSharon Tel Aviv |
 Route 482 |
| 5.8 | מחלף מורשה (Morasha Interchange) |
 |
Named after location | Ramat HaSharon (Morasha quarter) |
 Highway 4 |
| 8 | מחלף תקווה (Tikva Interchange) |
 |
Named after location | Petah Tikva, Yarkon Cemetery |
Zevulun Hammer Road |
| 10.5 | מחלף ירקון (Yarkon Interchange) |
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Named after nearby Yarkon River |
Petah Tikva Hod HaSharon |
 Highway 40 |
| 13.5 | מחלף קסם (Kessem Interchange) |
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Named after nearby Kafr Qasim |
Rosh HaAyin |   Highway 6 Route 444 |
| 17 | מחלף ראש העין מזרח (Rosh HaAyin Mizrah Interchange) |
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Rosh HaAyin East | Rosh HaAyin Kafr Qasim |
 Road 5050 |
| 19.4 | Green Line | ||||
| 21 | מחלף שער שומרון (Sha'ar Shomron Interchange) |
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Samaria Gate | to Oranit, Elkana, stone quarry |
 Route 505 |
| 22 | Qasim Security Checkpoint | ||||
 ↑NO westbound through-traffic for green (Palestinian Authority) license plates↑ | |||||
| 33 | מחלף ברוכין (Brukhin Interchange) |
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Named after location | Brukhin Bruqin |
 Route 446 |
| 35 | מחלף ברקן (Barkan Interchange) |
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Named after location | Barkan Barkan Industrial Park Ariel West Industrial Zone |
 Road 4765 |
| 37 | צומת גיתי (Gitai Junction) |
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Named after Gitai Avisar |
Haris Revava |
Route 505 |
| 40 | צומת אריאל (Ariel Junction) |
 |
Named after location | Ariel Kifl Haris |
Route 505 |
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Coordinates: 32°06′16″N 34°59′25″E / 32.10444°N 34.99028°E