It then turns southeast, continuing past the 70 meter high Hiriya landfill, intersects Highway 4 and Route 412 and passes the Tel Aviv toll express lanes and park-and-ride facility.

The road then makes an S-curve as it passes Ben Gurion International Airport and crosses north of the Ayalon Stream.

The road then travels briefly alongside the Ilan Stream, approaching Sha'ar HaGai (The Valley Gate) at 300 meters above sea level.

Along this section, abandoned rusted military vehicles have been preserved along the sides of the road to commemorate the efforts of the armoured supply convoys that attempted to break through the siege of Jerusalem during 1948 Palestine war.

Past Shoresh, the road reaches an elevation of 715 meters along the northern ridge of the Kisalon Valley at Kiryat Ye'arim (Telz-Stone).

Travelling due east, the road, also called Yigael Yadin Boulevard, passes Har Hotzvim and Ramat Shlomo, ascending to its highest elevation of 815 meters as it intersects with the heavily congested Sha'ar Mizrach Junction (East Gate) at Shu'afat and French Hill.

At this point, the road crosses the tracks of the Jerusalem Light Rail and intersects with Highway 60, marking the watershed of the Judean Mountains.

The road turns east by northeast, continuing its descent, passing E1 (Jerusalem), Mishor Adumim and Route 437 at 250 meters.

Turning southeast, though travellers can stop at a scenic overlook at Sea Level (0 meters), the view of the Jordan Valley at this precise point is mostly obstructed because of the surrounding mountains.

The attraction for tourists is to be photographed in front of the sea level sign and, for a price, sitting atop a colourfully decorated camel.

The largest bell for the church of the Augusta Victoria complex, built between 1907 and 1910, weighed six tonnes and required that the road be widened and paved.

Finally, in 2002, Shoresh Interchange opened, eliminating the last left turn on the highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

However, the road did not meet freeway standards due to narrow shoulders, dangerous turns and difficult slopes, and the speed limit on this section was 80 km/h.

Upgrading this section with additional lanes and gentler curves was approved by the Committee on National Projects after many years of opposition from ecological groups and local governmental authorities.

[7][8] Opposition on ecological grounds to the Sha'ar HaGai-Shoresh section that passes through a sensitive nature reserve has been addressed by the inclusion of a 70-meter wide eco-bridge as part of the plan.

By February 2012, the National Roads Authority published requests for tender (invitation for bids) for the Sha'ar HaGai-Shoresh section and the HarEl Tunnel to be implemented as design–build projects.

This section was under Jordanian control between 1948 and 1967 and renewed access to this road, which is known as the "Jericho Road" (Hebrew: דרך יריחו) or the Adummim Ascent (Hebrew: מעלה אדומים), was famously noted alongside the reunification of Jerusalem in the famous Israeli song, Jerusalem of Gold.

A bypass of this section, designed to relieve congestion at Sha'ar Mizrah Junction, opened in 2002, connecting the highway through two 2-lane tunnels under Mount Scopus towards the Hebrew University, Bar-Ilan Street and central Jerusalem.

In 2001 Moriah, the Jerusalem Development Company started building a bypass of the city's oft-congested western entrance, designated as 'Jerusalem Road 9'.

Before it was built, travellers from the west of Jerusalem who wished to reach the Dead Sea, or vice versa, had no better option than to drive through congested city streets.

Passing through Emek HaArazim (Valley of Cedars), it includes two 400-meter tunnels (one for eastbound traffic and one for westbound), four bridges over the Sorek stream and two new interchanges.

This tunnel will allow east-west traffic to bypass the current signalized intersections and provide direct access to Jerusalem's northeastern neighbourhoods.