Highway 6 (Israel)

Highway 6 (Israel)

Highway 6 (Hebrew: כביש 6, Kvish Shesh), widely known as the Trans-Israel Highway or Cross-Israel Highway (Hebrew: כביש חוצה ישראל, Kvish Chotzeh Yisra'el, "Trans Israel Highway"), is a major electronic toll highway in Israel. The highway was officially dedicated as the Yitzhak Rabin Highway (Hebrew: כביש יצחק רבין, Kvish Yitzchak Rabin), though this name is not commonly used. It started operating in the early 2000s and is being lengthened as construction proceeds on newer sections. As of 2009, parts of it are still under construction and the northern terminus was extended to the Ein Tut Interchange on July 20, 2009 where the highway now merges into Highway 70 heading northwards.

The aim of the Highway is to provide an efficient north-south transportation corridor in the country while allowing drivers to bypass the traffic-congested Tel Aviv region, located in the center of the country. Thus it is the Eastern-most major highway in Israel, in some places located almost right on the Green Line. Currently Highway 6 is 140 km long, all of which is a freeway. This figure will grow in the next few years as additional segments, currently undergoing statutory approvals and permitting processes, are extended from the existing section of the road.

Highway 6 is the first Israeli BOT road constructed, carried out mainly by the private sector in return for a license to collect tolls on the highway for a given number of years. It is also one of the largest infrastructure projects undertaken in Israel in recent years.