Samaria Bypass Road Upgrades Include New Traffic Lights
New traffic lights have been installed as part of a NIS 250 million project to upgrade and widen the Ma'ale Shomron Road in Samaria. The "Punduk Bypass" section will partially open in two months with one lane per direction, and the full dual-carriageway project is slated for completion in summer 2027. The upgrades aim to improve safety and accommodate regional population growth, with construction partly influenced by security concerns.
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- New traffic lights installed on the Ma'ale Shomron Road bypass project in Samaria.
- The road upgrade project is costing approximately NIS 250 million.
- The "Punduk Bypass" section will open partially in two months.
- The entire road is planned to be a dual-carriageway by summer 2027.
- Construction is partly a response to security incidents in the region.
Significant progress has been made on the project to upgrade and double the lanes of the Ma'ale Shomron Road, also known as "Punduk Bypass." During a tour of the site, Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, Karnei Shomron Council head Yonatan Kuznitz, and representatives from Netivei Yisrael (Israel National Roads Company) reviewed future traffic arrangements and the timeline for opening the new bypass section. The extensive infrastructure project has an upgraded cost of approximately a quarter of a billion shekels.
A phased opening plan was agreed upon to reduce traffic congestion during ongoing construction. The first phase, scheduled to open in about two months, will feature one lane in each direction. The project's full completion is expected in the summer of 2027, at which point the road will become a dual-carriageway with two lanes in each direction. New traffic lights have already been installed along the route.
This bypass is a key component of the broader plan to double the Ma'ale Shomron Road, extending from the area of Highway 6 and Kfar Saba to the settlements of Gush Har and northern Samaria. Additionally, work will soon commence on upgrading the western section from the Ginsepot junction to Karnei Shomron, with a timeline set for the opening of traffic lights at the Gilad junction.
Dagan stated that the road is a significant milestone towards accommodating the region's one million residents, calling it a "revolution" that will enhance both security and safety. He thanked various officials, including Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Finance and Defense Minister Bezalel Smotrich, former GOC Central Command Yehuda Fuchs, current GOC Central Command Avi Bluth, and representatives from the IDF's Ephraim Brigade, Judea and Samaria Division, Netivei Yisrael, and the Civil Administration.
Last July, a tour with Minister Regev and other council heads led to the official renaming of the road to "Ma'ale Shomron Road." The construction is partly a response to the lessons learned from shooting attacks, such as the one in Huwara where the Yaniv brothers were killed. Following that attack, Dagan met with then-GOC Central Command Fuchs, who ordered a "combat breakthrough" of the road, significantly advancing the project.
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