Infrastructure works across Jerusalem are coming to a halt just as the city prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors during Sukkot 2025. The pause affects roadworks, transit development and underground utility upgrades — including projects tied to the next light rail lines — along major arteries such as King George Street, Jaffa Road, Strauss, Hanevi’im and the downtown area around Mahane Yehuda Market and the central bus station.
The decision followed a meeting led by the city’s Director General, Ariela Rajuan, together with transportation officials, municipal subsidiaries, project managers and light rail contractors. The directive freezes all works from Monday, October 6, until Tuesday the 14th. Only closed-off work zones that do not affect traffic or parking are allowed to continue behind barriers.
King George Street and the Next Light Rail Lines
King George Street, a key stretch undergoing infrastructure works for future light rail expansion, has been left in a mid-construction state: existing trenches remain, pedestrian passages are narrowed, and fencing stays in place — only the machinery has stopped. Similar scenes can be found on Shlomtzion Hamalka, Strauss Street and Heleni Hamalka, where daily life intersects with long-term transit works.
Local shopowners, who have faced reduced foot traffic for months, hope the break will temporarily bring pedestrians back as visitors stream into the city center, Mahane Yehuda Market, Mamilla and Zion Square.
Sukkot Crowds, Traffic and Parking
Sukkot in Jerusalem is known for intense congestion: families with children, tour groups, foreign visitors and buses shuttling between event venues, the Old City and major hotels. The pause is meant to prevent further lane closures and construction blockages — but it does not restore parking spaces lost to rail preparations, sidewalk widening or underground utility work.
Those entering the city via Route 1, Givat Shaul, Highway 16 or Begin Boulevard may see fewer construction vehicles, but will still struggle to find parking near Mamilla, the city center or the market.
(Light rail blocks King George Jerusalem – Freud would notice)
Municipal Instruction to Halt the Works
Rajuan stated:
“Jerusalem will be packed from wall to wall during the Sukkot holiday, with hundreds of thousands arriving from across the country. To ease movement for residents and visitors and ensure smoother traffic, I instructed that all development works be stopped from this coming Monday until the end of the holiday. The work will resume the following morning. Gmar Hatima Tova and a happy, kosher holiday to Jerusalem’s residents and all of Israel.”
What Will Visitors See?
Jerusalem is not reverting to pre-construction mode — it is pausing mid-process. Anyone arriving during the holiday will experience less noise and fewer heavy vehicles, but also frozen work zones: dug-out sections, fenced corridors, light rail preparations and unfinished paving.
Once the holiday ends, the tools return — possibly with even greater urgency to meet deadlines.
