Highway 5 (Israel–Palestine) facts for kids

Trans-Samaria Highway כביש חוצה שומרון
Rosh HaAyin North Interchange [he]
Quick facts for kids Route information
Length	37 km (23 mi)
Major junctions
West end	Tel Aviv (Glilot Junction)
	Glilot Interchange Morasha Interchange Yarkon Interchange Kessem Interchange
East end	Ariel
Location
Major cities:	Ramat HaSharon, Hod HaSharon, Petah Tikva, Rosh HaAyin,
Highway system
Roads in Israel Highways ← Highway 4 Highway 6 →

Highway 5, also called the Trans-Samaria Highway, is one of Israel's main roads. Its Hebrew name is Kvish Hotze Shomron, which means "Cross-Samaria Highway". This important road connects the Mediterranean coast, just north of Tel Aviv, with the central Sharon plain. It then continues east to Ariel and other Israeli communities in the northern West Bank.

The name Highway 5 usually refers to the part of the road from its western start at the Glilot Interchange to the main entrance of Ariel. This section connects four other major highways in the northern Tel Aviv area. These include The Coastal Highway (Highway 2), the Ayalon Highway (Highway 20), Geha Highway (Highway 4), and the Cross-Israel Highway (Highway 6).

The name Kvish Hotze Shomron (Cross-Samaria Highway) is often used for the part of the road that goes past the Green Line into the West Bank. This section continues east towards the Jordan Valley. This part of the road, from the Green Line to its eastern end, is also known as "Derekh Haim" (Haim's Road). It was named after Haim Landau, who was a former Israeli Minister of Transportation.

History of Highway 5

Originally, Highway 5 only reached Rosh HaAyin, which is inside the Green Line. It mainly served the busy Gush Dan area. In the West Bank, the main road was an older one called Road 505.

Expanding the Highway

In the early 1990s, towns like Ariel and other communities grew a lot. This created a need for a more modern and wider road. The old Road 505 was a single-lane road and not very good. So, Highway 5 was extended about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the Green Line. This extension ended near Ariel. It helped about 50,000 people living in the largest group of Israeli communities in the northern West Bank. It also served the Barkan Industrial Park.

At that time, this extension of Highway 5 was one of the biggest building projects Israel had done in the West Bank. As of 2017, the road ends at a roundabout near Ariel. There, it joins Road 505, which continues east past Ariel to Petza'el. Petza'el is on Route 90, a north-south road that runs along the Israel-Jordan border in the Jordan Valley.

Road Features

The western part of Highway 5 has between 3 and 5 lanes in each direction. The number of lanes gets smaller as the highway goes east. The western section, around Gush Dan, was one of the most crowded roads in Israel in 2017.

Highway 531 is another highway that runs about 5–6 kilometers (3–4 miles) north of Highway 5. It opened in 2017 and also includes a rail system. There are plans to add a special toll lane (a "fast lane" that you pay to use) along Highway 5 in the future.

Interchanges and Junctions

Highway 5 near Ramat HaSharon.

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	Highway 20 (Israel)
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)		Named after nearby Yarkon River	Petah Tikva Hod HaSharon	Highway 40
13.5	מחלף קסם (Kessem Interchange)		Named after nearby Kafr Qasim	Rosh HaAyin	Highway 6 Route 444
17	מחלף ראש העין צפון (Rosh HaAyin North Interchange)		Rosh HaAyin North [he]	Rosh HaAyin Kafr Qasim	Road 5050
19.4	Green Line
21	מחלף שער שומרון (Sha'ar Shomron Interchange)		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 (Bruchin Interchange)		Named after location	Bruchin Bruqin	Route 446
35	מחלף ברקן (Barkan Interchange)		Named after location	Barkan Barkan Industrial Park Ariel West Industrial Zone	Road 4765
37	צומת גיתי (Gitai Junction)		Named after Gitai Avisar	Haris Revava	Route 505
40	צומת אריאל (Ariel Junction)		Named after location	Ariel Kifl Haris	Route 505

See also

In Spanish: Carretera Trans-Samaria para niños