Route 204 (Israel)

Route in Israel

Route 204

כביש 204
Route information
Length| 30.4 km (18.9 mi)
Existed| 1953–present
Major junctions
South end| Halukim Junction
North end| Dimona Junction
Location
Country| Israel
Major cities| Yeruham, Dimona
Highway system

* Roads in Israel

* Highways

| ←  Route 200| | →  Route 206

|
|

Route 204 is a regional road in the Negev, Israel. It starts at the Halukim junction with Highway 40, passes by the town of Yeruham and ends at the Dimona junction on Highway 25, near Dimona.

## History

[edit]

The southern section of the road, from Yeruham to the south, was broken by the IDF starting in 1951, as part of the construction of the road to Eilat through the Makhtesh Ramon.[1] The road to Eilat was officially inaugurated in February 1954.[2]

The northern section of the road was paved in 1952 and inaugurated in February 1953, as part of the construction of the Be'er Sheva \- Sodom road. It was paved as a temporary detour connecting the road from Sodom to the Petroleum Road [he], thus delaying the expenses of paving Highway 25 from Dimona to Be'er Sheva.[3][4] The road turned Yeruham into a major crossroads in the Negev in the 1950s and 1960s.[5] The opening of Highway 25 from Be'er Sheva to Dimona reduced the use of the northern section of Route 204, while the southern section served as the main road to Eilat. In May 1961, the northern section was closed for a while for repairs[6] and in 1963, the leaders of Dimona and Yeruham asked to renovate and expand it.[7] However, the National Roads Company of Israel requested to pave a new road in place of the old road and therefore they did not repair or build bridges on it, to prevent its closure due to floods.[8] In January 1966, the road was described:

> The 14 kilometer section between Dimona and Yeruham does not deserve to be called a road at all. Remained there as a "souvenir" torn pieces of asphalt along the entire length, even without edges. Further on, there are about 4 kilometers that are good from Yeruham and again 15 kilometers that are very bad.[9]

The widening of the road along its entire length was included in the National Roads Company of Israel plan for 1968[10] and again in the plan for 1969[11] and was implemented in 1969-1970.[12] The road is considered preferable to the winding road of the Petroleum Road,[13] especially after the widening of the road.[14] In February 1973, a section of Highway 40 was opened from Mashabei Sadeh to Sde Boker and the passage on Route 204 became unnecessary.[15] As a result, the Petroleum Road was closed and traffic to Yeruham passed on the northern section of Route 204.[14]

## Junctions (South to North)

[edit]

District[16]| Location[17]| km| mi| Name| Destinations| Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|

Southern| Sde Boker| 0| 0.0| צומת חלוקים
(Halukim Junction)|  Route 431|
Merhav Am| 3.4| 2.1| צומת מרחב עם
(Merhav Am Junction)|  Road 2042|
Yeruham| 17.2| 10.7| צומת ירוחם
(Yeruham Junction)|  Route 225|
17.8| 11.1| צומת גבעת ירוחם
(Givat Yeruham Junction)|  Route 224|
20.3| 12.6| צומת ירוחם צפון
(North Yeruham Junction)| Vardimon Boulevard|
Dimona| 30.4| 18.9| צומת דימונה
(Dimona Junction)|  Highway 25|
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "נסלל והולך כביש נוסף לאילת". Al HaMishmar. April 16, 1953.
2. ^ "נפתחה תנועה לאילת בכביש". Al HaMishmar. February 21, 1954.
3. ^ "השלמת כביש כורנוב סדום". HaTzofe. November 23, 1952.
4. ^ אפרים תלמי [in Hebrew] (March 27, 1953). "נחנך כביש סדום - נפתחה תקופה חדשה לאזור הנגב". Davar.
5. ^ אפרים תלמי [in Hebrew] (January 23, 1958). "ילדים בנגב והכביש החדש". Davar.
6. ^ "כביש דימונה - כפר ירוחם בתיקון". Maariv. May 22, 1961.
7. ^ שלמה גבעון (March 12, 1963). "דימונה וירוחם כרתו ברית ערים". Maariv.
8. ^ "שום כביש לא נשטף". Maariv. October 28, 1965.
9. ^ "כבישי הנגב מתבלים". Maariv. January 27, 1966.
10. ^ "אושרו תכניות לסלילת כבישים". Davar. January 3, 1968.
11. ^ "כבישים ועבודות עפר". Davar. December 30, 1968.
12. ^ "מע"ץ סוללת כבישים בנגב". Maariv. February 24, 1969.
13. ^ שלמה גבעון (March 29, 1972). "אמרתי לבן גוריון שצריך לשרוף את ירוחם". Maariv.
14. ^ a b משולם עד (March 12, 1973). "כביש הנפט ייסגר". Davar.
15. ^ משולם עד (February 6, 1973). "כביש גולדה - ב.ג. ייחנך ביום ג' הבא בשדה בוקר". Davar.
16. ^ Survey of Israel (October 31, 2018). "מחוזות משרד הפנים" [Ministry of Interior districts] (Map). Govmap (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
17. ^ Survey of Israel (October 31, 2018). "גבולות ישובים" [Locality borders] (Map). Govmap (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 31, 2018.

## See also

[edit]

* List of highways in Israel

* v
* t
* e

Transport in Israel

Roads|

| Highways|

* 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
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|

Routes|

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Bus operators|

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Rail transport|

| Intercity|

* Haifa–Nazareth Light Rail (planned)
* Israel Railways

|

Urban|

* Jerusalem Light Rail
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Cycling|

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Sea ports|

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Aviation|

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|

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By city|

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Smart cards|

* Rav-Kav

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