In the presence of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Samaria Council head Yossi Dagan and Ariel mayor Yair Chetbon, the Trans-Samaria Highway crossing was reopened with a fifth lane for traffic.
The upgrading of the crossing is part of a broader project advanced by the Defense Ministry, aimed at upgrading the 16 crossings throughout the Seam Zone.
The project began at the end of last July and gas now been completed with the addition of the fifth lane and additional security personnel to conduct inspections. The crossing is also being significantly upgraded at a cost of 100 million NIS due to the enormous traffic jams which also pose a security risk.
“We have no choice but to win the war”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke during the ceremony, where he addressed the war: “The IDF is meeting this mission heroically, and the defense establishment supports it. This is a difficult battle, but it is a battle of national determination which in the end will be won by those who stay on their feet. We have no other choice but to win this war.”
Gallant also addressed the northern residents who have been away from their homes for 215 days: “There are also costs and we need to return residents who do not live in their homes safely to them and we will do it.”
“We need to develop another city east of Ariel”
“Road 5 is the primary traffic artery from the center of the country and to the Jordan Valley, and we have more to do with this axis, but not in this part, in parts in Ariel and Tapuach and east, and there we need to take care of things,” Gallant said.
“The basic logic is connecting Road 5 with Road 90. We need to develop a large, significant city in the Maaleh Efraim area continuing what’s happening on the ridge in Ariel, because this is the most central junction, and this will allow us to divert the population of the State of Israel eastward which will be able to both work and also quickly reach wherever it wants.”
