Route 411 (Israel)

Route 411 ( _he. כביש 411), is a regional road in the Shephelah region in Israel. It is currently 11 km long, connecting Highway 40 south of Rehovot with Highway 3 towards Jerusalem, bypassing the towns of Kiryat Ekron and Mazkeret Batya.

Route description

Route 411 starts at Ekron Junction with Highway 40, continuing local Road 4123 from Rehovot. It then runs south, with two junctions and a roundabout providing access to a major outdoor shopping center, Bilu Center. This section is undivided, with one lane in each direction and is often congested, especially during weekends and holidays. Work began in 2000 to upgrade this section to dual-carriageway standards, which included the construction of the temporary roundabout, however it stopped two years later, leaving the road in its poor current state.

The road then turns south-east, turning into a dual-carriageway for approximately 2 km while bypassing Kiryat Ekron and Mazkeret Batya. This section was upgraded in 2002, and traffic lights were added to two of the junctions in 2007.

Halfway across the bypass of Mazkeret Batya, the road is once again downgraded to a single-carriageway. It then reaches an at-grade crossing of the Tel Aviv - Be'er Sheva Railway, a bridge over Highway 6 and another at-grade railway crossing with the Tel Aviv - Jerusalem Railway. Further east the road becomes more winding in nature until reaching its terminus at Hulda Junction with Highway 3.

Future Plans

The National Roads Authority is currently building a new section of Route 411, 2 km long, between Highway 42 and Route 410. This section also includes grade separation of the current at-grade crossing between Route 410 and the Lod - Ashkelon Railway. Once this section is completed, Route 411 will have two open sections without any connection between them, which is a very unusual situation in Israel. There are plans to complete the missing 4.5 km long central section, however there is no real timetable for such a project. There are also plans to upgrade all of Route 411 to dual-carriageway, including a grade separation with the Tel Aviv - Be'er Sheva Railway and a new bridge to replace the dangerous curve over Shaham Stream.

Work is ongoing to replace the at-grade crossing of the Tel Aviv - Jerusalem Railway with a grade separated crossing, with the road passing under the Railway. It is due for completion in late 2008.