, Highway 1
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem The coastal plain and Judean foothills The route begins as
a six-lane freeway as it splits off from the
Ayalon Highway (Highway 20) just north of the Kibbutz Galuyot Interchange in Tel Aviv at an elevation of 16 meters above sea level travelling due south-southeast following the course of the Ayalon Stream. It then turns southeast, continuing past the 70 meter high
Hiriya landfill, intersects
Highway 4 and Route 412 and passes the Tel Aviv toll express lanes and park-and-ride facility.
Israel Railways maintains tracks along the
median of the highway along this section. A separate express toll lane runs along the three westbound lanes between Ben Gurion and Kibbutz Galuyot interchanges. The road then makes an S-curve as it passes
Ben Gurion International Airport and crosses north of the Ayalon Stream. Continuing south-southeast, the road intersects with
Highway 40, the cutoff to
Route 443 East and
Highway 6 (Trans Israel Highway) North where it narrows to four lanes and rises to an elevation of 93 meters at
Ben Shemen. Passing Ben Shemen, the highway descends slightly as it turns south-by-west, running
concurrently for with Highway 6 providing access to Highway 6 South. Leaving the Highway 6 concurrency, the road again turns south-southeast, travelling through the
Ayalon Valley where it once again widens to six lanes and intersects with
Highway 431 just south of Modi'in. At this point, Israel's longest bridge, part of the
Tel Aviv-Jerusalem High-Speed Railway, can be seen in the valley to the north. The road crosses the Ayalon Stream and ascends to 250 meters as it briefly crosses the
Green Line (the 1949 Armistice Line) for and back again at
Latrun. The road then travels briefly alongside the Ilan Stream, approaching
Sha'ar HaGai (The Valley Gate) at 300 meters above sea level. At the Sha'ar HaGai Interchange, an Ottoman
caravanserai is visible on the south side of the highway.
Ascent to Jerusalem Passing through Sha'ar HaGai, Highway 1 begins a pronounced ascent through the
Judean Mountains at a point between the Mishlatim Ridge to the north and the Shayarot Ridge and the famous
Burma Road to the south. Along this section, abandoned rusted military vehicles have been preserved along the sides of the road to commemorate the efforts of the armoured supply convoys that attempted to break through the
siege of Jerusalem during
1948 Palestine war. Past Shoresh, the road reaches an elevation of 715 meters along the northern ridge of the Kisalon Valley at
Kiryat Ye'arim (Telz-Stone). It then descends to 610 meters as it passes
Abu Gosh while crossing the Kisalon Stream at Ein Hemed, and then again ascends, reaching 680 meters as it enters the
Harel Tunnels, bypassing Mount Ma'oz and
Castel National Park at
Mevaseret Zion. At this point, the road descends to 610 meters, where it passes on the Motza bridge over the Sorek Stream and Valley, bypassing Motza.
Through Jerusalem Now within the municipal limits of Jerusalem, the road continues northeast and begins the final ascent to the city. On the northern slopes below
Har HaMenuchot, the road splits at Sha'ar Moriah Interchange, completed in 2007. Before 2007, Highway 1 continued its ascent via
Ben Gurion Boulevard, negotiating three wide curves and three tight curves ending at the historic western entrance to Jerusalem at the beginning of Jaffa Road. Since that time, the road, as numbered now, descends from the interchange into the Valley of Cedars (Emek HaArazim). In the Valley of Cedars, the road known as Jerusalem Road 9 passes through tunnels under a hill on the north side of the Sorek Stream. It then crosses the Green Line next to
Ramot at an elevation of 630 meters as it intersects with
Route 436 and
Highway 50 (Begin Boulevard) at Yigael Yadin Interchange, becoming a four-lane
divided highway with traffic-light controlled junctions. Travelling due east, the road, also called Yigael Yadin Boulevard, passes
Har Hotzvim and
Ramat Shlomo, ascending to its highest elevation of 815 meters as it intersects with the heavily congested Sha'ar Mizrach Junction (East Gate) at
Shu'afat and
French Hill. At this point, the road crosses the tracks of the
Jerusalem Light Rail and intersects with
Highway 60, marking the watershed of the
Judean Mountains. Passing Sha'ar Mizrah, the road is called Derech Ma'ale Adumim. The greenery typical of the western side of the watershed is replaced by the eastern side's stark mountain-desert shades of beige. The road turns southward and begins descending, passing the
Shu'afat refugee camp and the
Al-Issawiya neighbourhood. At this point, a new road alongside and separated from Highway 1 has been built that will become a connecting route between
Ramallah and
Bethlehem. Passing the
At-Tur neighbourhood, the highway leaves Jerusalem at the Zeitim
Security Checkpoint. After this point, the road is open to green (Palestinian) license plates.
Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley Junction (
Al-Issawiya Junction) and the az-Za'ayyem Checkpoint on Highway 1, near the
Israeli West Bank barrier Turning eastward after the checkpoint, Highway 1 descends steeply to 375 meters as it passes the Adumim Interchange with
Route 417 providing access to
Ma'ale Adumim,
al-Eizariya and
Abu Dis, joining the historic Jericho Road. The road turns east by northeast, continuing its descent, passing
E1 (Jerusalem),
Mishor Adumim and Route 437 at 250 meters. Levelling out for the next and occasionally rising in elevation, the road passes the Nahal Og Nature Reserve (Wadi Mukhalik), intersects with the
Allon Road (Route 458) and the famous
Khan Al-Ahmar, a caravanserai associated with the New Testament story of the
Good Samaritan. Descending again, the road briefly turns due south as it passes
Mitzpe Yeriho. Turning southeast, though travellers can stop at a scenic overlook at Sea Level (0 meters), the view of the Jordan Valley at this precise point is mostly obstructed because of the surrounding mountains. The attraction for tourists is to be photographed in front of the sea level sign and, for a price, sitting atop a colourfully decorated camel. The road then turns eastward and descends below sea level passing the entrance road to
Nabi Musa, a pilgrimage site where Muslims believe
Moses is buried. At 230 meters below sea level, the road passes Jericho Junction, providing access to
Vered Yeriho and
Jericho. Passing
Beit HaArava, Highway 1 ends at Beit HaArava Junction with
Highway 90 at an elevation of 325 meters below sea level. ==History==