In the early 1930s, the public transportation cooperative Egged had not yet been established; instead, the region was served by the HaSharon cooperative. In Tel Mond, the first known drivers were Yavzurov and Yerushalmi. Despite the settlement’s small size and peripheral status at the time, early signs of organized public infrastructure were already present: the regional school, a cooperative loan and savings fund, the Tel Mond Bloc Committee, a local council headed by Comrade Dinovitzer, and the beginnings of a Kupat Holim (public health clinic). The official responsible for public health was permanently based in Tel Mond and operated from a room within the Workers’ Council building.
At that time, roads had not yet been paved. In winter, pedestrians trudged through thick mud, while in summer, they sank into loose sand. The reference here is to pedestrians, although travel by wagon or automobile was no easier or more comfortable. A thirsty traveler might stop at one of the young orchards along the way, open a faucet, and drink sparingly from the available water supply.
Over time, the British Mandate Government paved the central Tel Aviv-Haifa road, which passed through Petah Tikva. However, in those days, the road was extremely narrow, though the number of vehicles in use was also relatively low.
Source: Archives of the Tel Mond Bloc Documentation Project, Esterin Papers, p. 108.
The new road connecting Tel Aviv and Haifa via the Sharon settlements, Hadera, Pardes Hanna, and Zikhron Ya’akov - shortening the distance between the two cities by over 60 kilometers - was officially inaugurated on September 30, 1937, after a long and difficult developmental process.
For many years, the Jewish Yishuv had demanded the paving of this vital road between the two principal coastal cities. It was envisioned as a strategic link between the industrial and agricultural regions of Judea and the Sharon and the country’s only deep-water port in Haifa, while also serving as a catalyst for the development of new settlement areas in the fertile lands of the Shephelah (lowlands). Moreover, the road was considered a matter of national security, intended to free Jewish transportation from dependence on the roads of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nablus, which were plagued by frequent hostilities from hostile Arab concentrations nearby.
This critical transportation artery was debated in both houses of the British Parliament, and the Peel Commission (Royal Commission of Inquiry, 1937) dedicated a special section to it. However, the Palestine Railways, which was burdened by chronic deficits, strongly opposed the project, and construction progressed slowly - only a few kilometers per year.
By March 1936, the road had reached Tel Mond, and according to the original plan, the remaining section to Haifa was expected to take an additional four years to complete. However, the outbreak of the 1936 Arab Revolt and the Peel Commission’s urgent recommendation - explicitly stating that “the best interest of the country as a whole requires that this road be completed as quickly as possible” - finally compelled the British Mandate authorities to accelerate the paving effort.
The entire road, including two 16-meter-wide bridges over the Alexander Stream - the first of their kind in the country - was completed by mid-1937, well ahead of the original 1940 target.
The first vehicles to cross the Alexander Bridge after the long procession of sixty guest-filled cars were two horse-drawn carts and an Egged bus. In appreciation of the efforts invested in the project, the management of Egged presented Engineer P. Atkes, Head of the Public Works Department in Haifa, with a special gift: a lifetime free pass for travel on all Egged lines throughout the country.
The road’s inauguration was marked with great public fanfare by Mr. Kitteroch, Governor of the Haifa District, in a ceremony held on the Alexander Bridge near Ma’abarot, attended by numerous dignitaries and guests. Mr. Kitteroch concluded the ceremony with a wish: “May this be a road without accidents.”
Yet, only a short time later, a jackal was struck and killed on the road - marking the first fatality and the first bloodshed on the newly inaugurated route.
Further blood would soon follow.
Source: Adapted from “The First Drivers” by Chaim Razieli
(Tel Mond Bloc Documentation Archives)