Route 204 is a regional road in the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

, Israel. It starts at the Halukim junction with Highway 40, passes by the town of Yeruham and ends at the

Dimona Dimona ( he, דִּימוֹנָה, ar, ديمونا) is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south-east of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. In its population was . The Shi ...

junction on Highway 25, near Dimona.

History

The southern section of the road, from Yeruham to the south, was broken by the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

starting in 1951, as part of the construction of the road to

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...

through the

Makhtesh Ramon Makhtesh Ramon ( he, מכתש רמון; ''lit.'' Ramon Crater/Makhtesh ; ar, وادي الرمان, links=no) is a geological feature of Israel's Negev desert. Located some 85 km south of the city of Beersheba, the landform is the world' ...

. The road to Eilat was officially inaugurated in February 1954. The northern section of the road was paved in 1952 and inaugurated in February 1953, as part of the construction of the Be'er Sheva -

Sodom Sodom may refer to: Places Historic * Sodom and Gomorrah, cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis United States * Sodom, Kentucky, a ghost town * Sodom, New York, a hamlet * Sodom, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Sodom, West Virginia, an ...

road. It was paved as a temporary detour connecting the road from Sodom to the , thus delaying the expenses of paving Highway 25 from

to Be'er Sheva. The road turned Yeruham into a major crossroads in the

in the 1950s and 1960s. The opening of Highway 25 from Be'er Sheva to

reduced the use of the northern section of Route 204, while the southern section served as the main road to Eilat. In May 1961, the northern section was closed for a while for repairs and in 1963, the leaders of Dimona and Yeruham asked to renovate and expand it. However, the

National Roads Company of Israel Netivei Israel ( he, נתיבי ישראל, Netivei Yisra'el, ''lit.'' Routes of Israel), formerly the National Roads Company of Israel ( he, החברה הלאומית לדרכים בישראל, ), also called National Roads Authority, is a govern ...

requested to pave a new road in place of the old road and therefore they did not repair or build bridges on it, to prevent its closure due to floods. In January 1966, the road was described: The widening of the road along its entire length was included in the National Roads Company of Israel plan for 1968 and again in the plan for 1969 and was implemented in 1969-1970. The road is considered preferable to the winding road of the Petroleum Road, especially after the widening of the road. In February 1973, a section of Highway 40 was opened from

Mashabei Sadeh Mashabei Sadeh ( he, מַשְׁאַבֵּי שָׂדֶה) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The kibbutz was estab ...

Sde Boker Sde Boker ( he, שְׂדֵה בּוֹקֵר, lit. ''Herding Field'') is a kibbutz in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Best known as the retirement home of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat ...

and the passage on Route 204 became unnecessary. As a result, the Petroleum Road was closed and traffic to Yeruham passed on the northern section of Route 204.

Junctions (South to North)

History

Junctions (South to North)

References

See also