Ben Shemen Interchange ( he, מחלף בן שמן) is a major

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

interchange complex in central

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, connecting Highway 1,

Highway 6 Route 6, or Highway 6, may refer to routes in the following countries: International * Asian Highway 6 * European route E6 * European route E006 Albania * National Road SH6 Argentina * Buenos Aires Provincial Route 6 Australia New ...

, Route 443 and

Route 444 The following highways are numbered 444: Australia * Wilsons Promontory Road Canada *Manitoba Provincial Road 444 Japan * Japan National Route 444 United States * Interstate 444 (Unsigned highway, unsigned) * Louisiana Highway ...

, as well as several local roads. The interchange is located near

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

Ben Shemen Ben Shemen ( he, בֶּן שֶׁמֶן, ''lit.'' very fruitful) is a moshav in central Israel. Located around four kilometres east of Lod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymolog ...

and Ben Shemen Forest, hence its name. It is one of the largest and most complex interchanges in the country.

History

The interchange first opened as a simple

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

between Highway 1 and Route 443 in 1981. It was improved in 1996 with the addition of two Y interchanges, providing a direct connection between Highway 1 and eastbound Route 443 and creating a short freeway branch off Route 443. Major construction work took place between 1999 and 2003 as part of the construction of Highway 6. These works included the replacement of the original Route 443 bridge, a new Y interchange with Highway 1 and a new diamond interchange with Route 444. The interchange partially opened on October 28, 2002 with the opening of northbound Highway 6.New section of Highway 6 will open in 2 days
Ynet (October 26, 2002). The interchange fully opened on January 20, 2003.
Ynet (January 21, 2003).

Layout

Four freeway segments (of three different freeways) and three at-grade segments enter the interchange: *From the west: Highway 1 (freeway) and Route 443 (at grade) *From the north: Highway 6 (freeway) and Route 444 (at grade) *From the east: Route 443 (splits into a short freeway branch and an at-grade section) *From the south: merged (

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

) section of Highway 1 and Highway 6 (freeways) The interchange is a complex of six distinct smaller interchanges, containing three Y interchanges, two diamond interchanges and one

Parclo A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...

References

{{coord, 31, 57, 33, N, 34, 56, 16, E, type:landmark, display=title Junctions in Israel Road interchanges in Israel Hevel Modi'in Regional Council