Oh, Jerusalem, Israel.
Does anyone remember chugging up the Judean mountains on old winding Route #1,
slowly, painfully riding in an old bus or open lorry to sleepy Jerusalem of old?
Today new buildings are going up, and all with elevators.
These old shops on Agrippas Street are the site of new renovation in the center of town.
In Jerusalem, street closings for construction occur often and without notice on these small roads.
But for the new Jerusalem Gateway project construction, ads were placed weeks in advance in both the Hebrew and English media for this important street closing on July 14.
The Route #1 entrance to Jerusalem by the bridge on Sderot Shazar will be closed to private vehicles until the year 2022.
So of course, I had to take one last photo at night.
Building up and up in Jerusalem has become a recurring theme.
Building up at the Jerusalem Gateway project for the new government offices is seen here.
This Kiryat Moshe building site has been cleared and new housing towers are set to go up.
Down Herzl Boulevard the light rail trains run regularly over the Chord or String Bridge.
I decided to go to the bridge two hours after the road closed on the 14th to see what was happening.
This was the view from the pedestrian part of the span walkway.
See the yellow ambulance near the center of the photograph?
It was finally able to maneuver around the traffic, equipment, and workers.
Private vehicles will not be allowed to drive straight.
They must turn right onto Herzl Boulevard or make a left turn on to Yirmiyahu Street before the bridge.
Workers were busy painting new arrows for the new traffic patterns.
Traffic lights were out and will be changed as well.
There were crews in multiple locations directing confused drivers and pedestrians.
Sderot Shazar by Binyanei HaUma, the Jerusalem International Conference Center, was indeed cleared of cars. In the past, this was one of the most congested areas near the bus stops.
Now only buses and a few taxis will be allowed to drive here.
The new Navon Station for the fast train has access also from Jaffa Street.
But folks with luggage who want to be dropped off by private car?
I did not see a way to do it near the entrance.
Well, the plan was to encourage public transportation.
Navon is across from the main bus station and also a Jerusalem light-rail stop.
The Jerusalem Gateway project is huge. This bit of construction can be seen through one of the fences.
The Jerusalem Gateway closing of Sderot Shazar is for three years.
The construction of the government and business sectors will continue longer, meanwhile, Jerusalem’s skyline and traffic patterns are changing daily.
Drivers are advised to take Route #443 or the HaArazim Tunnel road of Route #1 in and out of Jerusalem until the year 2022.
Good timing, at least we have Waze, Moovit, and WhatsApp – 054-884323, now to help us get around town.
Who could have imagined any of this not so long ago slowly winding up the old Route #1 to Jerusalem?
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