Highway 45 (Israel)

Highway 45 has been used for more than one built or proposed alignment north of Jerusalem. A 2002 report described a road linking Jerusalem toward Tel Aviv via Giv'at Ze'ev and Modi'in, while a 2005 Ynet opinion column described a planned Ben Shemen–Jerusalem alignment through the Ramallah area.[1][6] A Jerusalem-area planning report, meanwhile, describes Highway 45 from Ma'aleh Beit Horon connecting with the eastern bypass, Highway 60, and continuing east toward Mishor Adumim.[4] These accounts do not establish a single finalized through-route.

Broader planning discussions associated Highway 45 and the Quarry Road with a proposed northern and eastern ring-road network intended to reduce traffic entering central Jerusalem and provide regional connections. The 2017 committee hearing discussing that network did not establish that every segment carried the same route number or had been completed.[7] The Jerusalem Institute report described Highway 45 as crucial for Jerusalem's connections with the coastal plain and Modi'in. It said the planned route would lie mainly in what was then Area C, where numerous Arab communities were located, and that agreement with the Palestinians would be needed concerning traffic arrangements.[4] The report also said consideration would have to be given to separating northbound Arab traffic from drivers using Highway 45 toward Jericho, the Jordan Rift Valley, or Amman.[4]

The Route 45 corridor has appeared in Israeli transportation planning for nearly five decades. In 1976, Transport Minister Gad Ya'acobi proposed both a railway and a new highway along the corridor, connecting Jerusalem through Modi'in and Giv'at Ze'ev to northern Jerusalem; that plan was not implemented.[3] A later policy account states that, following the January 1997 Hebron Protocol, Benjamin Netanyahu's government approved a new Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway identified as Route 45, north of the Jerusalem corridor. The account does not state that construction began or that the road opened.[8]

By November 2002, Israel's Public Works Department, Ma'atz, was preparing to open a segment of Highway 45 between the Atarot industrial area and its connection with Highway 443 toward Modi'in.[1] The road had been ready for roughly three months, but its opening was delayed for security reasons and at police direction; it opened after the stretch between Atarot and Jerusalem was fenced in accordance with police instructions.[1] The construction cost was reported at NIS 210 million. The initial road had one lane, with Ma'atz expected to add another lane in each direction in 2003.[1] Officials cautioned that the road might initially see limited use because drivers could avoid it over security concerns, as they had Highway 443.[1]

That expansion did not materialize as planned. In 2003, amid reductions in the Ma'atz budget, a section of Highway 45 between Atarot and Highway 60—costed at NIS 10 million—was among five Jerusalem-district projects frozen.[9] Subsequent years saw the route discussed repeatedly in planning documents without a completed through-road emerging.

A 2005 Ynet opinion column described a proposed alignment connecting Ben Shemen to Jerusalem through the Ramallah area, with two parallel roads separated by a stone wall—one for Jewish traffic and one for Arab traffic—although it provided no construction timetable or evidence that the design was built.[6] Another 2005 opinion article said the government sought to place the future Route 45 alignment, running from northern Jerusalem toward the center of the country, inside the Jerusalem-area security fence. It described a proposed deep fence three to four kilometers north of Route 443 intended to protect the road from light-weapons fire.[10] A 2006 Jerusalem Institute publication also referenced "planned Route 45" while describing a proposed metropolitan security-fence option whose northern route would pass north of Routes 443 and 45.[11]

A June 2017 Knesset committee hearing discussed the "Quarry Road" and "45 formerly" as parts of an earlier concept for a Jerusalem-area eastern and northern ring-road system, connecting with Route 437, Qalandia, Route 443, and Begin Boulevard.[7] Judea and Samaria Transportation Coordinator Israel Afriat told the committee that the statutory plan for the Quarry Road was being advanced by the Ministry of Housing, had been submitted for review, and was progressing after comments were received, although no construction budget or completion date was given.[7] Committee members emphasized planning for both Israeli and Palestinian transportation needs, and Afriat described the broader eastern ring-road concept as continuing toward Al-Eizariya without a checkpoint.[7]

In January 2024, Highway 45, or the "Quarry Axis," was listed among projects initially slated for postponement but ultimately assigned to 2025. The planning process was incomplete, and the project was not ready for execution in 2024.[2] A July 2025 report described a government-approved 508-million-shekel road-safety plan for Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley that included Route 45, called the "Quarry Road." It described the road as allowing Israelis from southern Samaria to bypass traffic at Jerusalem's entrance but gave no Route 45-specific allocation or construction schedule.[12]

In February 2026, construction reportedly began on a Highway 45 project intended to connect eastern Binyamin directly to Highway 443.[13] The route was described as beginning at Sha'ar Binyamin and running to Highway 443, with four bridges and an underpass in the Qalandiya area.[13] The Transport Ministry's stated aim was to enable continuous traffic flow, allowing Binyamin residents to reach central Israel without passing through the Hizma checkpoint or northern Jerusalem neighborhoods. The project was also expected to reduce congestion on Highway 437, at Hizma, in Shuafat, and at the Ben Zion interchange.[13]

The highway corridor has been the site of repeated attacks and security incidents. A 2015 security announcement described "Axis 45" as a continuation of Route 443 after Ofer Junction and said that a Palestinian cell carried out a series of attacks along the axis in 2014–2015. These included throwing four Molotov cocktails near Atarot Junction on July 30, 2015, as well as stone-throwing, incendiary-bottle attacks, and fireworks directed at vehicles on the route.[14]

On August 19, 2015, Palestinians threw stones at two vehicles on Route 45 near Jerusalem, between the Atarot Junction and the Benzion Netanyahu interchange. A one-year-and-ten-month-old baby girl and her father were injured, and their vehicle was damaged.[15] Security concerns also affected the road's implementation: they delayed the opening of the Atarot segment in 2002, while a 2005 proposal called for a fence north of Route 443 to protect a future alignment from light-weapons fire.[1][10]

Highway 45 has consistently attracted political commentary alongside its transportation rationale. At the 2017 Knesset committee hearing, MK Mordechai Yogev described Jerusalem as "a balloon on a string on one road, with the stick of 443," using the image to advocate for the broader ring-road network in which route concepts labeled Highway 45 appeared.[7]

A Jerusalem Institute report recommended building Highway 45 and related access roads as soon as possible. It also noted that because much of the proposed route lay in Area C, with Arab communities along it, agreement with the Palestinians would be needed on whether traffic would operate through safe-passage routes or corridors of free travel. The report considered the area unlikely to be annexed to Israel.[4]

When construction reportedly began in February 2026, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich characterized the road as a "settlement, strategic and Zionist" development and stated that the connection "applies de facto sovereignty."[13] Binyamin Regional Council head Yisrael Gantz described the project as strengthening security and creating continuity between Binyamin and central Israel.[13] A 2020 report on related Civil Administration transportation plans said planning for the Binyamin–Highway 443 connection had been coordinated with the Palestinian Authority because the road was expected to serve Palestinian as well as Israeli traffic. It also said construction would involve the expropriation of Palestinian land.[5]

The road appears under several names in Israeli official and media sources, and the relationship among the designations is not always clearly established. "Route 45" and "Axis 45" appear in security and transportation contexts, particularly for the segment near Atarot and north of Jerusalem.[14][1] "Quarry Road" or "Quarry Axis" appears in committee proceedings and budget reporting for a planned connection involving Binyamin and Highway 443.[7][12] "Northern Ring Road" was used during the 2017 committee discussion for the broader road concept.[7]

Sources do not consistently establish that all these names describe an identical alignment throughout every period. A 2020 Ynet article referred to a planned Binyamin–Highway 443 connection as a continuation of Highway 35, while 2026 coverage identified the Sha'ar Binyamin–Highway 443 project as Highway 45. The available sources do not explain whether a renumbering occurred or whether the reports describe distinct projects.[5][13]