In honor of the 40th anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Municipality has opened a new road to the Old City.
The new road, opened Monday in the presence of dignitaries, is expected to reduce traffic and ease the drive to the Western Wall and Dung Gate area.
The road, previously a dirt path for most of its route, runs from Sultan's Pool, southward to the Ben Hinnom Valley, through Silwan (the City of David), and then meets up with the existing Hativat Yerushalayim St. to Dung Gate. It can also be accessed from the Abu Tor neighborhood.
Present for the ceremony were Transportation Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, Tourism Minister Yitzchak Aharonovitch, Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky, and Gideon Shamir of the East Jerusalem Development Company (EJDC).
The 20-million shekel project included the removal of tens of thousands of tons of garbage, the building of a walkway along the road, the marking of paths for hikers, and the refurbishing of cemeteries and burial caves. Cemeteries for Karaites, Catholics, and Protestants exist in the area.
An EJDC official told Arutz-7 that the company has two more projects in the works in the same area:
* The development of the Vadi Hilwe road, which is a straight (southward) continuation of the route leading out of the Old City through Dung Gate
* The development of Maalot Ir David, a road just to the east of Vadi Hilwe.
Both these projects will help, among others, the more than 40 Jewish families living in the City of David neighborhood, below the Old City.