Highway 38 is an

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector r ...

in the low plains of

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...

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 ...

. It serves as the main access route to Beit Shemesh and as a main north–south route in the region. Along the route are many nature preserves and archeological sites. WildlifeCrossingRoad38IsraelOct092022 02

WildlifeCrossingRoad38IsraelOct092022 02

Route

Highway 38 travels in a north-northeast direction as it winds through the western foothills of the

Judaean Mountains The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel wh ...

from

Highway 35 The following highways are numbered 35: International * European route E35 Canada * Alberta Highway 35 * British Columbia Highway 35 * Ontario Highway 35 * Quebec Autoroute 35 *Saskatchewan Highway 35 China * G35 Expressway Costa Rica * ...

at Nehusha Junction near Beit Guvrin to Highway 1 at

Sha'ar HaGai Sha'ar HaGai ( he, שער הגיא) in Hebrew, and Bab al-Wad or Bab al-Wadi in Arabic ( he, באב אל-ואד, ar, باب الواد or ), lit. ''Gate of the Valley'' in both languages, is a point on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, 23 km ...

Interchange. Along many stretches, it follows small valleys formed by northward turns of westward streams emanating from the mountains to the east, notably, the Yoresh, Hakhlil, Yarmut and Kisalon Streams. Between the stream valleys and north of Eshtaol the road rises and falls as it crosses the many east–west ridges.

History

From biblical times the road is mentioned in as the route taken by the Philistines returning the Ark of the Covenant to the

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

in Beth-Shemesh. During the Roman Era, the road was an important route as evidenced by milestones found near

Givat Yeshayahu Givat Yeshayahu ( he, גִּבְעַת יְשַׁעְיָהוּ, ''lit.'' Yeshayahu Hill) is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Valley of Elah around ten kilometres south of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Reg ...

as part of the road from Ashkelon via Highway 35 to Beit Guvrin, northward along Highway 38, then westward via the

Elah Valley The Valley of Elah or Ella Valley ("the valley of the terebinth"; from the he, עמק האלה ''Emek HaElah''), called in ar, وادي السنط, Wadi es-Sunt, is a long, shallow valley in Israel and the West Bank best known as the place des ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In 1948, the Latrun section of Highway 1 was taken over by Jordan. Traffic between

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

and

was diverted to a new route called " Kvish HaGvura" (Road of Bravery) of which Highway 38 served as the connection between Highway 44 at Shimshon Junction and Highway 1 at Sha'ar HaGai. This section of the road was straightened and widened in 1960. At the end of 2012, 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 ...

published tenders to upgrade the northern section of the road creating a divided highway with two lanes in each direction between Beit Shemesh and Sha'ar HaGai. The government granted approval on 6 June 2013. The approval was made through the special "Housing Cabinet" since the road's expansion is a condition for plans to build an additional apartments and homes in Beit Shemesh. The newly rebuilt highway costing 800M shekels was inaugurated in September, 2017. Bridge interchanges at

Naham Naham ( he, נַחַם) is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Moshav Naham was established in 1950 by immigrants from Ye ...

Hartuv Hartuv ( he, הרטוב) or Har-Tuv (lit. "Mount of Goodness") was an agricultural colony in the Judean Hills established in 1883 on land purchased from the Arab village of Artuf by English missionaries. It was destroyed in the 1929 Palestine ri ...

, Shimshon Junction/

Eshtaol ( he, אֶשְׁתָּאוֹל) is a moshav in central Israel, and a Hebrew Bible, biblical location mentioned in the Book of Joshua, Books of Joshua and Book of Judges, Judges and in the 1 Chronicles, first Book of Chronicles. Located north of ...

and

Mesilat Zion Mesilat Zion ( he, מְסִלַּת צִיּוֹן, מסילת ציון, ''lit.'' Highway of Zion) is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Beit Shemesh with an area of 1,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Coun ...

with tunnel interchanges at the Sha'ar HaGai Caravanserai and the

Burma Road The Burma Road () was a road linking Burma (now known as Myanmar) with southwest China. Its terminals were Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. It was built while Burma was a British colony to convey supplies to China during the Second Sino ...

were completed. A wildlife bridge was built near Mesilat Zion and the road was raised to overpass the railway tracks at Beit Shemesh. The road includes highway lighting and bicycle paths along its entire length. The upgrade of the once relatively unsafe road into a modern highway will significantly cut travel time between Beit Shemesh and Tel Aviv or Jerusalem and allow the area's population to grow significantly.

Junctions & Interchanges (south to north)

PikiWiki Israel 5394 the khan in shaar hagai

Route

History

Junctions & Interchanges (south to north)

References

See also