. The road runs along
's center eastern border from north to south (with a planned east-west branch as well) and connects all of the major highways leading to the city - such as
. The Ayalon Highway is heavily travelled and over 750,000 vehicles per day use its main section
. It consists of a multi-lane highway with a multi-track railway located between the opposite travel lanes. Some of the highway's route is along the Ayalon River, hence its name.
Before the construction of the Ayalon Highway, all the major inter-city highways leading to Tel Aviv terminated in the outskirts of the city. This created major traffic congestion in the entry and exit points and made driving through the city very difficult. Moreover, before the highway, Tel Aviv had two separate railway stations, one in the north and one in the south, which were not connected. Thus passengers wanting to travel to the South of the country could only do so from the southern station and those who wanted to travel to the North could only do so from the northern (Central) station. Even worse, trains from the northern part of the country could not travel to the southern part of the country without bypassing Tel Aviv from the East, making train travel in Israel very inefficient. Finally there was the problem of the Ayalon River, which went through parts of Tel Aviv and would sometimes cause flooding.
To solve these problems, as early as the 1950s ideas were raised regarding using the route of the river as a transportation corridor, but it wasn't until the mid-1960s that the government began planning. In the 1970s a government-owned company,
, was set up to construct the highway. The first phase included construction of a concrete channel for the Ayalon River to alleviate the flooding problem. In 1982, the first section of the road opened, and in 1991 the final section of the central part of the road was completed. This section connects Route 1 in the south with Route 5 and Route 2 in the north. A railway with four stations was built in the center of the highway, which provided for the long-sought connection of Israel's railway network through Tel Aviv.
In the early 1990s the construction of a southern section of the highway had started. This section goes from the HaHagana raiway station through the southern Tel Aviv suburbs of
. After the highway splits with the Ayalon River at Highway 1, it goes on the route of a road called Heyl HaShiryon Road (דרך חיל השריון, meaning "Way of the Armoured Corps"), then on the route of
The road and railway had a major impact on the Tel Aviv region. While quite congested at times it nevertheless alleviated traveling to and through Tel Aviv. Considerable
development of offices, shopping, and housing occurred along the route, so much so, that Tel Aviv's
lost much of its importance as many businesses relocated to near the road.
saw huge increases in passenger numbers now that north/south trains could travel through Tel Aviv instead of around it.
Currently heavy construction activity is taking place to add more lanes in the southern part of the highway, to complete the construction of a second overpass in the
interchange and place railroad tracks in the median of the highway. An east-west branch "Ayalon East", from Highway 5 to the
railway station along the path of the Yarkon River has been planned, but is still not approved. Currently the northern terminus of the road is in
The central section of the road is built along the banks of the Ayalon River. However, Israel railways is in desperate need of adding a fourth railroad track in that area and no space exists to do so but "on top" of the river itself. Several suggestions have been made to solve this problem, ranging from diverting the entire river through
, to building an elevated highway, to creating a man-made lake for capturing flooding overflow south of the city and burying the river in a large diameter pipe and constructing the railway on top of it. All these solutions involve great cost and no decision has been made yet on how to proceed.
. However, this has garnered very strong opposition from environmental groups, since the road would have to cross a nature preserve and other sensitive environmental areas. These groups suggest widening
(the so-called "Coastal Highway"), an existing expressway north of Tel Aviv which roughly parallels (several kilometers to the west) Route 20's future route, instead of extending Route 20 northwards.
| km |
Name |
Type |
Meaning |
Location |
Road(s) Crossed |
| 0 |
מחלף חולות
(Holot Interchange) |
 |
Sand Dunes |
Gan Sorek Gan Sorek is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the coastal plain around four kilometres south-west of Rishon LeZion and covering 700 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gan Raveh Regional Council...
|
(Highway 4Highway 4 is an Israeli highway that runs along Israel's entire coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea, its route in the north runs from the Rosh HaNikra border crossing with Lebanon until the Erez Border Crossing with the Gaza Strip...
) |
| 1 |
מחלף מבוא איילון
(Mevo Ayalon Interchange) |
|
Ayalon Ayalon is the name of a location in Israel and a Hebrew family name. It is the modern transliteration of Ajalon. It may refer to the following:-Places:*Ajalon, a valley and Biblical town in Israel...
Gateway |
Rishon LeZionRishon LeZion , is the fourth-largest city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. The city had a population of 224,300 at the end of 2007...
|
(Route 431{Israeli Highways routebox|| image=ISR-HW431BLUE.PNG| map=| hebrew= Unnamed| meaning= Unnamed | highway= 431| length= 23| direction=East - West| classification=Freeway| start=Rishon LeZion | destinations=...
) |
| 3.5 |
מחלף משה דיין
(Moshe Dayan Interchange) |
 |
Named after
Moshe DayanMoshe Dayan, was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
|
Rishon LeZionRishon LeZion , is the fourth-largest city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. The city had a population of 224,300 at the end of 2007...
|
(Route 441) |
| 5 |
מחלף קוממיות
(Komemiyut Interchange) |
|
Named after intersecting street |
Bat YamBat Yam is a city located on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the central coastal strip, just south of Tel Aviv. Part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area, in the Tel Aviv District, the city is home to 129,100 people....
, HolonHolon is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan in the Tel Aviv District. In 2007, it had a population of 168,800. Holon has the second largest industrial zone in Israel after Haifa.-Etymology:The name of the city...
|
HaKomemiyut St. |
| 6.5 |
מחלף יוספטל
(Yoseftal Interchange) |
|
Named after intersecting street |
Bat YamBat Yam is a city located on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the central coastal strip, just south of Tel Aviv. Part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area, in the Tel Aviv District, the city is home to 129,100 people....
, HolonHolon is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan in the Tel Aviv District. In 2007, it had a population of 168,800. Holon has the second largest industrial zone in Israel after Haifa.-Etymology:The name of the city...
|
YoseftalDr Giora Yoseftal was an Israeli politician who held several ministerial portfolios in the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Biography:...
Blvd. |
| 7.5 |
מחלף דב הוז
(Dov Hoz Interchange) |
|
Named after intersecting street |
HolonHolon is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan in the Tel Aviv District. In 2007, it had a population of 168,800. Holon has the second largest industrial zone in Israel after Haifa.-Etymology:The name of the city...
, Bat YamBat Yam is a city located on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the central coastal strip, just south of Tel Aviv. Part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area, in the Tel Aviv District, the city is home to 129,100 people....
|
Dov Hoz Dov Hoz was a leader of the Labor Zionism movement, one of the founders of the Haganah organization, and a pioneer of Israeli aviation.Born in Orsha, Russian Empire in 1894, Hoz immigrated to Ottoman Palestine along with his family in 1906....
Blvd. |
| 9 |
מחלף וולפסון
(Wolfson Interchange) |
|
Named after nearby
Wolfson Medical Center |
HolonHolon is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan in the Tel Aviv District. In 2007, it had a population of 168,800. Holon has the second largest industrial zone in Israel after Haifa.-Etymology:The name of the city...
, Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
|
Local Roads |
| 12 |
מחלף חולון
(Holon Interchange) |
|
Named after location |
HolonHolon is a city in Israel, on the central coastal strip south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan in the Tel Aviv District. In 2007, it had a population of 168,800. Holon has the second largest industrial zone in Israel after Haifa.-Etymology:The name of the city...
|
(Highway 44)
Levi Eshkol' served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He was the first Israeli Prime Minister to die in office.-Early life:...
Blvd. |
| 13 |
מחלף חיל השריון
(Hel HaShiryon) |
|
Named after intersecting street |
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
|
(Highway 2{Infobox Israel highway|| image= ISR-HW2.png| highway= 2| hebrew=|-| align="center" | 5| align="center" | מחלף רבין | align="center" | | align="center" | Named afterYitzhak Rabin...
)
Hel HaShiryon Blvd. |
| 13 |
מחלף קיבוץ גלויות
(Kibbutz Galuyot Interchange) |
|
Named after intersecting street |
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
|
 
(Highway 1{{Mergefrom|Highway 9 |date=July 2009}}{{Mergefrom|Highway 9 |date=July 2009}}{{Israeli Highways routebox|| image= ISR-HW1.PNG| highway= 1| hebrew=| align="center" |...
/Highway 2{Infobox Israel highway|| image= ISR-HW2.png| highway= 2| hebrew=|-| align="center" | 5| align="center" | מחלף רבין | align="center" | | align="center" | Named afterYitzhak Rabin...
/Route 461) DiasporaA diaspora is any movement of a population sharing common ethnic identity. While refugees may or may not ultimately settle in a new geographic location, the term diaspora refers to a permanently displaced and relocated collective.Diasporic cultural development often assumes a different course from...
Ingathering St. |
| 14 |
מחלף לה גוורדייה
(LaGuardia Interchange) |
|
Named after intersecting street |
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
|
LaGuardiaFiorello Henry La Guardia was Mayor of New York for three terms from 1934 to 1945. He was popularly known as "the Little Flower", the translation of his Italian first name, Fiorello, and, most likely, a reference to his short stature...
St. |
| 16 |
מחלף השלום
(HaShalom Interchange) |
|
Named after intersecting street |
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
|
HaShalomShalom Ashkenazi Hebrew/Yiddish is a Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, and welfare and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye...
Road |
| 17 |
מחלף הרכבת
(HaRakevet Interchange) |
|
The TrainA train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway....
after nearby
Tel Aviv Center Railway Station |
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
|
(Route 481) |
| 17.5 |
מחלף ההלכה
(HaHalakha Interchange) |
|
The Halakha Halakha — also transliterated Halocho and Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
|
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
|
HaRav Shlomo Goren Shlomo Goren , was an Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi in Israel who founded and served as the first head of the Military Rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces and subsequently as the third Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983.Rabbi Goren's original family name was Gorenchik...
St. |
| 19 |
מחלף רוקח
(Rokah Interchange) |
|
Named after intersecting street |
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
|
RokahIsrael Rokach, OBE was an Israeli politician, Knesset member, and mayor of Tel Aviv from November 15, 1936 to April 13, 1953.-Biography:...
Blvd. |
| 21 |
מחלף קרן קיימת
(Keren Kayemet Interchange) |
|
Named after intersecting street |
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
|
Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (JNF) The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a non-profit corporation owned by the World Zionist Organization and possesses quasi-government powers...
Blvd. |
| 23 |
מחלף גלילות מזרח
(Glilot Mizrah Interchange) |
|
East Glilot |
Ramat HaSharonRamat HaSharon is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south and Herzliya and Kibbutz Glil Yam to the north. It is part of the Tel Aviv District, within Gush Dan metropolitan area...
|
 
(Highway 5{Israeli Highways routebox|| image= ISR-HW5.png| highway= 5| hebrew= כביש חוצה שומרון | meaning= Cross Samaria Highway| length= 37| direction=East - West| classification=Expressway| start=Tel Aviv...
to Highway 2{Infobox Israel highway|| image= ISR-HW2.png| highway= 2| hebrew=|-| align="center" | 5| align="center" | מחלף רבין | align="center" | | align="center" | Named afterYitzhak Rabin...
) |
| 25.5 |
מחלף שבעת הכוכבים
(Shiv'at HaKohavim Interchange) |
|
The Seven Stars |
HerzliyaHerzliya is a city of 84,200 residents located on the central coast of Israel. It is part of the Tel Aviv District. Named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, Herzliya covers an area of 26 km²...
|
(Route 541) |
| 27.5 |
מחלף המעפילים
(HaMa'apilim Interchange) |
 |
The Unlawful Immigrants |
Kfar Shmaryahu Kfar Shmaryahu is a local council in Israel, within the Tel Aviv District. The council was founded in 1937, during the Fifth Aliyah to Israel.Kfar Shmaryahu is ranked very highly on the Israeli socio-economic scale...
only to North |
(Route 541) |
| In planning stages |
| 29 |
 מחלף רשפון
(Rishpon Interchange) |
|
Named after location |
Rishpon Rishpon is a moshav in the Center District of Israel. Located in the Sharon plain near Herzliya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaSharon Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 1,000....
|
(Route 531Route 531 , is a suburban freeway in the southern Sharon region of Israel.While the highway begins at Highway 6 and currently terminates in Kfar Sava, in 2008 a tender was issued to continue constructing the highway towards the Mediterranean coast...
/Highway 2) |
St. in
- Official site. Includes up to the minute traffic reports and live traffic camera views.