Israeli road (illustration)
Israeli road (illustration)Israel news photo: Flash 90

Drivers on Route 1, the main road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, are waiting with bated breath for completion of work that will upgrade the road to an international-class highway, eliminating twists and turns, and widening the road to three and four lanes. Work has been ongoing for months, at a furious pace, but UTJ MK Uri Maklev would like to give workers a few days off – specifically the Intermediate Days (chol hamo'ed) of the upcoming Sukkot holiday.

There are numerous reason for Maklev to make such a request of the Israel Police traffic unit. Besides itbeing a semi-holiday in which work is shunned, construction would mar the holiday atmosphere that is prevalent during cholhamo'ed. But even for the more secular-minded, there is a good reason to shut down construction – avoiding the traffic nightmares that are likely to develop, Maklev wrote in a letter to police.

“There is always more traffic during chol hamo'ed, both during the day and at night,” Maklev wrote. “Many people travel to and from Jerusalem during this period, and traffic even during normal times is very heavy.” Even though much of the work is carried out at night, Maklev said that the road was very heavily traveled even late into the night, as families return home from outings.

“In order to avoid even worse traffic, I would request that work be halted for the several days of chol hamo'ed that will take place this year.” In addition, he asked that public transportation continue to operate later, with buses in Jerusalem operating until 2 a.m., instead of around midnight as they do the rest of the year. “Doing this will ensure that buses are less crowded the rest of the day as well,” as people will be better able to pace their visits to family and friends without having to worry about catching the last bus, he added.