Police warn of heavy Tel Aviv traffic as Netanyahu visits new light rail

Tel Aviv Police announced a series of scheduled road closures that would take place on Thursday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned a visit to the Tel Aviv Light Rail.

Netanyahu planned to inspect the light rail system before its grand opening on Friday.

The street closures, which began at 7 a.m. and were expected to last until 4 p.m., were expected to affect several prominent streets across Tel Aviv. 

Which roads will be affected?

Ibn Gabirol street, Hayarkon street, Jabotinsky street, Frishman street, Shenkar street and Yosef Halevi street are among major throughways affected by the visit, as part of those roads would be blocked for a large portion of the day.

Ben-Tzvi road, the Jaffa Clock Tower, Eilat street and Shlomo street are among the 23 total road closures that police said were likely to cause heavy traffic congestion throughout the district.

Police urge the public to obey the instructions of the police officers stationed at the roadblocks and choose alternative routes. Traffic blocks will be displayed on the popular navigation app Waze, where travelers can plan accordingly.

Tel Aviv Light Rail woes

The much-anticipated Tel Aviv Light Rail is ironically supposed to reduce the traffic congestion that has plagued Tel Aviv for years. Construction began in 2011, with the most recent promise to be opened by the end of 2022.

The project continued to see multiple delays – partly due to a malfunction in the brake system – and will now finally see its first operational line –the Red Line, which runs from Bat Yam to Petah Tikva through Jaffa and by Rothschild – open on Friday, August 18.

Troy O. Fritzhand contributed to this report.