Petah-Tikva Footbridge, Pedestrian bridge in Petah Tikva, Israel.
The Petah-Tikva Footbridge is a metal structure spanning Jabotinski Street, supported by a central mast from which curved lines extend upward. It connects the Rabin Medical Center with a shopping mall and municipal park on the opposite side of the busy street.
The bridge was initiated in 1999 by the Petah Tikva municipality and the developers of the Big Mall to link the mall with Beilinson Hospital without disrupting traffic on Jabotinsky Street. Construction was approved in August 2001, built by Ramet, and opened to pedestrians on 6 September 2006 after a legal dispute with a landowner delayed it. It replaced the nearby horseshoe-shaped Beilinson Bridge, demolished on 14 September 2006. In August 2024 it was renamed Operation Arnon Bridge.
The bridge is known in Hebrew as Gesher HaMetarim, "the Strings Bridge". In August 2024 it was renamed Gesher Mivtza Arnon, after the hostage-rescue operation in Gaza in which Yamam officer Arnon Zamora was killed. Its official opening in December 2006 was attended by Santiago Calatrava himself.
Access is straightforward from both sides and the bridge is easily walkable from the medical center, shopping mall, and park. Visitors should expect the area to be busier during peak hours, especially when people commute between these locations.
The bridge was renamed in August 2024 for Operation Arnon, the hostage-rescue mission in Gaza during which Yamam commander Arnon Zamora was killed. Until then it was simply known as the Strings Bridge. Its 31 steel cables are lit at night by lamps that change colour.
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