Jerusalemites avoiding traffic chaos, by staying home

Jerusalem residents are bracing themselves for the planned road closures and inevitable traffic jams. As of right now, most of them seem to be opting to stay at home — the roads are unusually empty.

The Social driving app Waze — which lets drivers know where there are tie-ups, and suggests alternative routes designed to get them to their destinations in the quickest time possible — plans to be ready, unlike the last time there was a major road closure in Israel, when the app sent tens of thousands of drivers to a highway that was “rained out” of service.

Though Waze will update drivers, and the Israel police have opened a toll-free call line (in Israel, 1700-553-100) for the public, the major traffic routes affected are already known:

Route 1, the main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, will be shut down for an hour or so starting at 1:30 p.m., as Obama’s convoy travels from the airport to the capital. (The president himself will be helicoptering.)

In Jerusalem, all the roads between the King David Hotel and Netanyahu’s official residence on Balfour Street will be closed for the duration of Obama’s stay.