Traffic leads authorities to block access to parts of Ayalon Highway
Renovations at the HaShalom train station in Tel Aviv necessitate closing of several lanes on the road near it, creating unusual traffic for Friday evening. As a result, the Israel Police decides to block entire sections of the highway, in order to divert drivers to alternative roads.
The Israel Police closed a section of the southbound Highway 20 in the Tel Aviv area over the weekend due to heavy traffic caused by renovations taking place at the HaShalom train station in the city.
Drivers could not enter Highway 20, also known as the Ayalon Highway, from the Kakal, Rokach, and Arlozorov junctions, until 8:30pm Saturday when the closures are expected to reopen.
In Ayalon’s northbound lanes, the exit to HaShalom Rd. in Tel Aviv has been closed, and the Givat Hatahmohet St. on the adjacent HaShalom Bridge has been blocked in both lanes, including for pedestrians.
These steps were taken by the Israel Police in order to divert drivers to alternative routes, such as Namir Rd. and Menachem Begin Rd. in Tel Aviv, thus avoiding the unusually-heavy traffic seen Friday night as the result of the closures.
The roads were closed Friday for weekend work on one of the city's main train statins despite objections from ultra-Orthodox parties.
Ministers Aryeh Deri (Shas) and Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism), together with MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism), wrote a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to complain that "the government is trampling on the Shabbat."
As a result, Netanyahu announced Friday morning that a portion of the work will be postponed, but "all work that involves safety issues will continue as planned."
A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said, "After the ultra-Orthodox factions discovered that the Ministry of Transportation was going forward with infrastructure work on the train system, the coalition came to the brink of collapse. The Prime Minister intervened to solve the dispute and held discussions all night. After taking all points into consideration, it was decided that all repairs involving safety of passengers will be conducted as scheduled, including the Ayalon Highway. However, all work on tracks from Ben Gurion Airport to Modi'in and Beit Yehoshua to Atlit, will be postponed and not take place this Saturday."
