Traffic on an Israeli highway. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

i24 News – Amid a worsening traffic crisis in Israel, Jerusalem is aiming to ease traffic congestion to and from the Israeli capital by 2024 with a major transportation project in its northern region that includes underground tunnels and highway systems.

The $340 million project, dubbed the ‘French Hill tunnels’ and on track for completion in two years, will offer four tunnel systems extending some two miles under the French Hill, Kevarim, and Coca-Cola junctions – some of the most congested in the city, according to The Times of Israel.

Israel’s Transportation Ministry, the Jerusalem Municipality, and contractor Moriah Jerusalem Development Company have been in collaboration on the plan since 2020.

Once completed, it will offer a quick connection to Highway 9 and then Highway 1 to cross Israel to its coastal city of Tel Aviv.

Benny Kasriel, mayor of Ma’ale Adumim just east of Jerusalem, told Channel 13 News that the project will allow drivers to travel between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv without a single traffic light. He added that it will also speed up journeys between the capital and the Dead Sea and to Ma’ale Adumim.

Earlier this week, Channel 13 said construction teams of ten engineers and a hundred employees working over 100 feet below ground took a major step forward in recent days.

Despite some objections from environmentalists, the municipality said it is an essential step for the future of Jerusalem.