Route 443 (Israel)
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| Highway 443 | |
| Hebrew name |
מעלה בית חורון (Ma'ale Beit Horon) |
| Name meaning | |
| Length | 28 km |
| Direction | West - East |
| Classification | |
| Start | Lod (Ginaton Junction) |
| Primary destinations | |
| End | Highway 45/Begin Expressway to Jerusalem |
| Major junctions |
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Route 443 (Hebrew: כביש 443, מעלה בית חורון), also Ma'ale Beit Horon (ascent of Beth-Horon), is the main highway connecting Modi'in with Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and also serves as a secondary connection between the Tel Aviv area and Jerusalem. While technically listed as a regional road, it is for the most part a divided, four-lane highway which utilises some grade separation and interchanges, as well as major at-grade intersections, and thus is not classified as a motorway, even though there is a short motorway section on its western end, connecting it to westbound Highway 1.
The highway departs Highway 1 and Highway 6 at Ben Shemen interchange, and continues eastwards to Shilat junction, which serves as the entrance for the Modi'in area. It continues east into the West Bank in the Matte Binyamin Regional Council, near Ramallah, where it becomes Jerusalem's Begin Expressway via the newly designated Highway 45. A spur, road 436, links it with Giv'at Ze'ev and the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ramot.
Some of the access roads connecting Palestinian villages with Route 443 in the West Bank portion have been closed since the September 2000 outbreak of the Second Intifada.[1] Frequent fire bomb attacks and fatal shootings on Israeli traffic saw the erection of anti-sniper barricades on parts of the highway adjacent to Palestinian populated areas.[2][3][4][5] In a March 2008 ruling, the Israel's Supreme Court upheld the IDF's right to limit Palestinian traffic to prevent attacks, challenged by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.[6][7]
The road was the site of many battles in antiquity due to its unique geography, most famously part of the biblical story of Joshua, and the combat between the Macabees and the Seleucid Empire. As opposed to the modern Highway 1, which twists and turns in gullies on its route from the coastal plain to the Judean hills, the central portion of Highway 443 ascends along a ridgeline, and thus maintains a relatively stable grade.
- See also: Beth-horon#Pass of the Bethorons
[edit] Interchanges & junctions (West to East)
| km | Name | Type | Meaning | Location | Road(s) Crossed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | צומת גינתון (Ginaton Junction) |
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Named after location | Ginaton, Lod |  (Highway 40) |
| 3 | מחלף בן שמן (Ben Shemen Interchange) |
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Named after location | Ben Shemen |    (Highway 1, Highway 6, Route 444) |
| 3 | צומת מודיעים (Modi'im Junction) |
|
Named after Modi'in | Neot Kedumim | local road |
 |
"Tombs of the Maccabees" | local road | |||
| 8.7 | |
entrance to Mevo Modi'im | local road | ||
| 10.2 | צומת מכבים (Maccabim Junction) |
|
Named after Maccabees | entrance to Modi'in | Road 4466 |
| 12.8 | צומת שילת (Shilat Junction) |
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Named after Shilat | Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, Modi'in Illit |  (Route 446), Hashmonaim blvd. |
| 13 | צומת מכבים-רעות (Maccabim-Re'ut Junction) |
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Named after place | Maccabim-Re'ut | Yair Peleg Road |
| 14.3 | צומת בית חורון (Beit Horon Junction) |
|
Named after nearby Bethoron | Maccabim-Re'ut |   (Highway 3) blocked, Route 455 |
| 23.4 | מחלף בית חורון (Beit Horon Interchange) |
|
Named after place | Beit Horon | local road |
| 28.3 | צומת גבעת זאב (Giv'at Ze'ev Junction) |
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Named after place | Giv'at Ze'ev, Jerusalem |  (Begin Expressway)via Highway 45 |
[edit] References
- ^ The law as roadkill on Highway 443, Haaretz, September 26, 2006.
- ^ 4 Israelis wounded in drive-by shooting
- ^ Israeli driver killed in ambush near Givat Ze'ev
- ^ Couple shot dead in ambush, children lightly hurt
- ^ Two murdered in terror attacks
- ^ Barring Palestinians from Highway 443 prevents attacks on Israel, court hints, March 4, 2008, Jerusalem Post
- ^ A road becomes a dividing line in the West Bank, by Ethan Bronner, March 26, 2008, International Herald Tribune
External reference links:
- Ancient path (map)
- Jewish Universe travel guide
- Tyranny in Tar (political op ed)
