Prime Minster Netanyahu and Transportation Minster Israel Katz attended a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of a new road connecting Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem. Road 38 is expected to open Thursday and Transportation Minister Israel Katz said it will significantly cut the time it takes to travel between Beit Shemesh, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The road aims to reduce the traffic by opening up arteries to the center of the city and increase safety by increasing lighting and upgrading barriers.
The four year project cost an estimated NIS 800,000 ($220 mill.) and spans 10 kilometers (~6 miles). The road circles the area connecting the local mountain tops and upgrading the former road system. It will have ten bridges and fifteen junctions. At one point on its route it passes over an ancient Roman Road that once connected Jerusalem to Ashkelon.