Highway 3 (Israel)

Highway 3 begins at the Latrun Interchange, where it branches from Highway 1, the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem highway. Heading south, it joins Highway 40 and continues toward Ashkelon. Route 232 provides a connection toward Sderot along the way.[1]

Hulda Junction is the meeting point of Highway 3 and Highway 411.[2] A 2004 report mapping a planned human-chain route described Highway 3 in two separate stretches: from Silvar Junction to Kastina Junction, and from Re'em Junction to Nahshon Junction, with Highway 40 connecting the two stretches.[3]

During the 1948 War of Independence, Arab forces surrounded Jerusalem and placed the city under siege for several months. Israeli attempts to capture the Latrun police station, then controlled by the Jordanian Legion, failed. An engineering operation subsequently prepared a bypass track south of Latrun. Known as the Burma Road, the dirt track carried food, water, and weapons from central Israel into Jerusalem and broke the siege.[2]

A paved road replaced the dirt track and was inaugurated on December 7, 1948, late in the fighting. Known as Derekh HaGevurah, or the Road of Valor, it served traffic bound for Jerusalem until after the Six-Day War in June 1967, when the Latrun area was captured by Israel.[2]

The road's builders were among the early members of Israel's Engineering Corps, established in 1947 from Haganah engineering, construction, and demolition forces and Jewish Brigade personnel who had served in the British Royal Engineers.[2]

Highway 3 faced notable structural difficulties near the Latrun Interchange. Between 1980 and 1982, three sinkings occurred along a new stretch of approximately 400 meters. The affected sections ranged from about 25 to 70 meters in length, with subsidence reaching depths of 2 to 3 meters. In 1982, the westbound carriageway was closed and a temporary alternative lane was constructed while a permanent solution was sought.[4]

Planning for a major improvement to the section between Latrun and Nahshon began in 1978, although its final alignment was not agreed upon until 1990. The route crossed areas overseen by several bodies, including the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, the Nature Reserves Authority, the Jewish National Fund, and the Interior Ministry committee responsible for protecting agricultural land. The report described the section as a connection between southern Israel and Jerusalem that carried heavy traffic, particularly in the morning and afternoon.[5]

A roughly 6-kilometer section between Latrun and Nahshon opened to traffic in both directions in 2001. It was constructed with a 30-centimeter concrete surface finished with an asphalt layer and cost approximately NIS 30 million. The design was prepared by engineer Peter Leibovitz in collaboration with the Italian company Dominiconi, while Shapir carried out the work. Ma'atz said the concrete construction was intended to reduce maintenance relative to conventional asphalt pavement.[6] An earlier proposal had described a roughly 10-kilometer concrete-road project in the same corridor, with earthworks tendered for NIS 20 million and a bridge contract for NIS 2.86 million. Landscape treatment and restoration were included because the route crossed varied terrain.[5]

In 2003, the Israel Public Works Department, known as Ma'atz, included the widening and improvement of Highway 3 between the Latrun Interchange and Modi'in in its planned public-works program. The report listed it among projects expected that year but did not establish that the work was subsequently completed.[7]

In 2004, Ma'atz moved to cancel a planned concrete-road project on Highway 3 because of its high initial construction cost. Concrete roads were estimated to cost up to twice as much to build as asphalt roads, although they could cost less over a 25–30-year period because of lower maintenance expenses. A proposed 15-kilometer continuation from Nahshon toward Sha'arei Avraham had also been frozen amid development-budget constraints.[8]

Latrun Junction on Highway 3 was identified as a problematic road-safety site in 2012. Construction work began in August 2016 and included a central roundabout intended to slow traffic, road widening, raising the ground level by several meters, and adding sidewalks. The reported project cost was NIS 15 million.[9]

During the three years preceding a 2017 report, 20 road crashes occurred at the junction, resulting in one fatality, two serious injuries, and 51 light injuries. Improvements at Nahshon Junction on Highway 3 were also approved at a cost of nearly NIS 7 million, although the report provided no detailed treatment plan or implementation date.[9]

On April 30, 2025, the stretch of Highway 3 between the Latrun Interchange and Nahshon Junction was temporarily closed in both directions during major wildfires in the Jerusalem hills.[10]

The Road of Valor monument stands beside Highway 411, about 500 meters northwest of Hulda Junction. Established in 1950 at the edge of Hulda Forest near the starting point of the Road of Valor, it commemorated those who paved the road. In 1982, it was designated the central memorial to Engineering Corps personnel who fell in Israel's wars.[2]

The monument's original stone pillar is approximately 12 meters high. Its inscription reads: "In eternal memory of the warriors and road builders. With their lifeblood they conquered and paved the road to Jerusalem."[2]