Integrated transport hubs planned above Ayalon Highway

The plan to build seven integrated transport hubs along the Metro route in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area is underway with the first two such hubs at the Hashalom Interchange and the Haganah Interchange on the Ayalon Highway (Road 20).

The plans will mean additional buildings at both hubs, improve connectivity between the different means of transport, add building for offices, commercial space and public use, and advance, at least partially, one of the most talked-about plans in Tel Aviv-Yafo – covering the Ayalon Highway. Construction of the hubs follows a government decision in 2021, as part of the Metro Law. The five other hubs will be by Tel Aviv Savidor Station, Glilot, Kfar Ganim in Petah Tikva, Yoseftal in Holon and at the Holon junction.

The report presenting the plans for the first two hubs at the Hashalom and Haganah interchanges, prepared by Yaar-Korin Management and Planning, says, “The planning concept for the complexes is based on the assumption that transport hubs are a major lever for urban development, and not just transition points between public transport means.”

The National Infrastructure Commission discussed the alternatives for the Hashalom and Haganah hubs, and de facto approved the launch of both plans, by announcing the preparation of a plan and setting conditions for issuing permits. What do the alternatives offer for each complex, and which alternative is recommended?

Extensive covering of the Ayalon The plan for the Hashalom hub by the Azrieli Center and the HaShalom railway station, integrates with a plan for covering the Ayalon Highway around the Moses Bridge and with the plan for the nearby Tara complex. Two alternatives are proposed for the Hashalom hub. The first would create a public transport “campus” that would extend from the Moses Bridge (north of the Azrieli center) to the Hashalom Bridge, which would mean covering the Ayalon Highway. The second plan would cover the highway from the Moses Bridge to Isserlich Street.

The covering proposed in the second alternative is much more extensive, and also significantly more extensive than the existing plan for covering the Moses Bridge, which extends over 22 dunams (5.5 acres). The alternative also includes building a bridge on Isserlich Street, from east to west, south of the transport hub. In this plan, two buildings will be constructed for the transport hub in the Electric Corp. complex east of the Hashalom Interchange and in the Shefa Tal complex west of the interchange. The alternative also offers various uses such as street-side commerce and public buildings.

This alternative is the one approved by the Pre-Planning Committee, and preferred by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. However, it has two disadvantages: Firstly, it is more expensive due to the more extensive coverage of the Ayalon Highway. Secondly, infrastructural limitations will make it difficult to connect the hall in the Shefa Tal complex to the planned Metro system and the railway platforms.

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This hub will is cover 150 dunams (37.5 acres), and include four railway tracks (three existing and one under construction), stations for two metro lines (M1 and M2), stations for the light rail red line, bus stops, pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths. Traffic will reach 67,000 users at peak hours.

Three alternatives are proposed for the Haganah hub in the south of the city – all of which integrate in one way or another with the Haresh Complex plan promoted by the municipality, and with the plan to build the Michnasayim Bridge south of the Hagana Interchange. All three plans include some covering of the Ayalon Highway, with the most extensive proposal (alternative number 3) preferred by the pre-Planning Committee.

This alternative includes the construction of two central squares on the south side of the Haganah Bridge and another square on its north side, an additional entrance in a new building to the railway station, the construction of an east-west bridge as a continuation of Selma Street, and a connection to the Haresh Terminal and the Haresh Complex, which includes a 40-floor office tower and a six-floor building for commercial space.

The report says, “The expansion of the bridge and the covering of the Ayalon allow for high-quality movement and diverse public spaces,” and adds, “The new bridge to the southern side of the complex and its design as a bridge for easy movement, allows for the connection of pedestrians from west to east and connection to the Hatikvah and Shapira neighborhoods. The northern expansion of covering the Ayalon allows for an additional connection between Neve Sha’anan and Yad Eliyahu.”

The Haganah hub will cover about 100 dunams (25 acres), and include the existing Haganah railway station, a Metro station on the M1 line, a light rail Purple Line station, which is already under construction, 18 bus stops, an elevated and underground bus terminal, pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths, a park and ride lot and bicycle parking lot. According to passenger forecasts for 2050, the number of users of the Metro at peak hours will be about 25,000.

When will all this happen?

The announcement by the National Planning Commission about the preparation of the plan is the first step in the planning phase ahead of construction of the Metro. It can be cautiously estimated that the planning phase will last at least a few months, followed by issuing of permits and actual implementation phase, which will last several years.

Much depends on the metro project itself. Although work began on the ground last year, the starting date continues to be postponed. According to an internal document of the National Transport Authority, the Metro will only start operating in 2037, at best. Full implementation of the plans for the integrated transport hubs also depends on implementation of the Metro, and therefore it will probably be a long time before they are completed on the ground.

National Planning Commission chairman Rabbi Natan Elnatan said, “The committee’s decision constitutes a significant step in the development of the public transport network in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and constitutes a significant contribution to encouraging the use of public transport.”

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on January 20, 2026.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.