The Binyamin Council announced this morning (Sunday) the plan to widen Road 60 and add entrances to Jerusalem, which will significantly ease traffic jams between the capital and Binyamin. In a video released by the council, in which it details its plans for the coming years, the head of the Ozeri council, Israel Ganz, announced that planning has begun for widening Route 60 to two lanes, and another public transportation lane in each direction.
The upgrade will also reach the northern entrance area to Jerusalem from the Hizma-Adam road, with the first phase expanding the square and checkpoint area, and then the road will be widened to two lanes and another public transportation lane in each direction. Currently the road planning maps in Benjamin are in a very advanced condition, and the council hopes that without unexpected delays, within three years the road map will change significantly.
Council Chairman Israel Ganz said that “for three decades, the State of Israel has not been able to plan Judea and Samaria. Eliminate this area from all planning maps of the country. Thank God we changed that. After hard and hard work we have done in recent years “As we promoted with previous transport ministers, and when there is a master plan, it is possible to promote planning, expansion and paving of roads.”
Gantz added that “Since I entered the council, even during my time as deputy authority, I have worked on a detailed plan to expand the infrastructure in Benjamin. We will not give up despite the difficulties. We will not be able to continue to deprive this area – the heart of the country. Here we see a significant and worthy upgrade of the infrastructure. “
Apart from the progress on the Binyamin roads north of Jerusalem, significant progress has also been made in the issue of transportation in Gush Etzion. In recent weeks, the new long tunnel that will connect the settlements of Gush Etzion to Jerusalem from the south has been breached. The mining and excavation work of the tunnel is currently being completed, and the concrete phase has already begun. This complex and unique project involved the excavation of a tunnel about 900 meters long, a little over three meters from the active tunnel.
After about 400 days and thousands of hours of complex excavation and mining, the tunnel was breached. It is estimated that in about a year, in the first quarter of 2023, the new long tunnel will open to traffic. At this point the crews will go into rehabilitation and support work in the old tunnel after which the two tunnels will be opened together. In the old bridge connecting the tunnels, sealing work is currently being carried out and later asphalt will be paved.
In the old short tunnel, work is currently being carried out that includes restoration, internal concreting and the preparation of various infrastructures. In the section of the road from the tunnel to the Gilo neighborhood, earthworks are being carried out for a new road structure that will be adapted to the route, infrastructure transfer and later the construction of a changing public transportation lane. The full opening of the route is expected at the end of July 2022.
In addition, in recent months, an underground passage has been inaugurated from Har Gilo Road toward the bloc from which another lane was recently opened to the Husan junction. Work has recently begun on regulating and expanding the Husan junction. The head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, Shlomo Ne’eman, welcomed the progress of the project and said: “We thank the Moriah company that manages the project and all the partners: Solel and Boneh and the Oron Holdings and Investments Group, To help solve the problem of traffic jams and infrastructure, with a better and safer ride on the roads. The road and the tunnels that are being built before our eyes are an impressive and powerful spectacle, and no less impressive than meeting goals and schedules. .