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| כביש 90 | ||||
 Highway 90 highlighted in red | ||||
 Ketura Junction | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 478.7 km (297.5 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Taba Border Crossing withEgypt | |||
| North end | Fatima Gate Border Crossing withLebanon | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Israel | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Highway 90 is the longestIsraeli road, at about 480 kilometres (300 mi), and stretches fromMetula and the northern border withLebanon, along the western side of theSea of Galilee, through theJordan Valley, along theDead Sea's western bank (making it the world's lowest road), through theArava Valley, and untilEilat and the southern border withEgypt on theRed Sea. The central section of the road traverses theIsraeli-occupiedWest Bank. While it passes near the city ofJericho, it runs throughArea C and does not enter areas controlled by thePalestinian Authority.
The Arava Highway segment is the main link from the resort and port city of Eilat towards the country's centre and, at times, handles a heavy mix of local, tourist and commercial trucking traffic on the two-lane road (one lane in each direction). That, coupled with the monotonous nature of the desert landscape around it and the lack of a physical barrier between the opposing lanes of traffic, makes the road particularly prone to traffic accidents, which often occur at high speeds – earning it the nickname "The Red Road."[1]
The section of Highway 90 passing through the Jordan Valley was dedicated asDerekh Gandi (Gandhi's Road) after the lateRehavam Zeevi, an IsraeliMinister of Tourism who advocated the transfer of 3.3 million Palestinians fromIsraeli-occupied territories and was so right-wing that he barely remained within the outer perimeter of political acceptability, and wasassassinated by Palestinians, who was nicknamed afterMahatma Gandhi.
The section of Route 90 passing the Dead Sea is namedDead Sea Highway and is the lowest road in the world. It is along this stretch of road thatMasada,Ein Gedi nature reserve,Ein Gedi Spa,Qumran Caves, andAhava are located. It is here that Route 90 intersects withRoute 1, making it a major international tourism artery for travellers between the Sea of Galilee,Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.[2]
There is no actual four-way intersection with Route 1. When travelling south along 90 from the Jordan Valley, the road intersects the eastern end of Route 1 atBeit HaArava Junction. Route 90 continues by turning left at the junction, then again turns south. A short distance later, Route 90 continues via a right turn atLido Junction.
The section of Route 90 passing through theArabah is namedArava Highway. When built, the Arabah section of the proposedRailway to Eilat will be located near the Arava Highway in many places along the route.
The northernmost section of the highway, fromTiberias to Metula, is the oldest, having existed since theOttoman period.
Until the 1960s, a series of separate roads existed where the highway is today. After theSix-Day War, a section in the northern Dead Sea area was completed, making these roads contiguous. In the early 1980s, the road was assigned the number 90.
In October 2007,Israeli Transport MinisterShaul Mofaz announced that the 170 km section of Highway 90 between Arava Junction and Eilat would be renovated, widened and repaved in stages to a four-lane configuration with a physical barrier in the middle and rest stops every 45 kilometres.[1] Initial announced funding was NIS125 million; the total project budget for all stages of widening is NIS2.3 billion (equivalent to over US$650 million in 2013 dollars). As of the fall of 2013, 40 km of the highway had been widened by theNational Roads Company, from Eilat toYotvata.[3]
On 9 November 2018, Route 90 collapsed above Kidron Stream, 10 km south toKalya, nearOvnat, due to aflood that created asinkhole.[4][5][6]
As of 2020, the section between Yotvata andKetura (to the intersection withHighway 40) is undergoing widening. No date has been set yet for widening the long stretch of highway between Ketura and the Arava Junction.
Route 90 has two permanent checkpoints: theBeit She'an-Bardala checkpoint in the north, nearSdei Trumot and the Bezeq Stream, and one in the south just north of Ein Gedi. Palestinians living in the West Bank are not allowed to pass these checkpoints unless permits from the Israeli authorities are obtained.[2] According toB'Tselem, at the Beit She'an-Bardala checkpoint, during certain agricultural seasons, Palestinian trucks transporting agricultural produce are allowed to cross twice a week.[7]Palestinians are often stopped and turned back for not having the correct papers, at the Beit Ha'arava checkpoint leading to theDead Sea.[citation needed]
Route 90 is one of Israel's most dangerous highways. Between 2003 and 2018, there were over 2,250 road accidents on Route 90, in which 223 people were killed and over 6,450 people were hurt, 700 of them seriously.[8] Oz Dror, spokesperson forOr Yarok, the Association for Safer Driving in Israel, said in 2018: "Route 90 continues to claim victims and take lives as a result of a shaky infrastructure that is not forgiving of drivers' mistakes. It is always easier to blame the driver and the human factor, but the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety is also responsible. The road was paved 50 years ago, and many years ago, it was necessary to improve the infrastructure and turn it from a red road to a safe road. A separation railing must be installed between the lanes to prevent head-on accidents as early as tomorrow morning to prevent the next casualty. Road accidents are not fate but failure."[8]
On 6 January 2022, a traffic collision between a truck and minibus killed eight people and injured two others in theWest Bank.[9][10] The crash occurred at Petzal Junction.President of PalestineMahmoud Abbas declared a day of mourning.[8]Defence Minister of IsraelBenny Gantz tweeted his condolences to the victims.[11] On 7 January, the day after the accident, many Palestinians gathered inAqraba, a Palestinian town inSamaria, for the joint funeral.[12]
While blocking a route is a criminal offence in Israel, some attempts to block the road have been made in recent years.
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31°22′24″N35°23′02″E / 31.37333°N 35.38389°E /31.37333; 35.38389
