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May 26, 2009

Road Upgrades

A number of years ago, the Ministry of Transportation tried to invigorate drivers and raise their level of awareness on the road by frightening them into driving safely. They put signs all around the country at dangerous road spots - dangerous defined by multiple accidents happening in any given location - stating how many road accidents and how many people were killed at that spot within the previous 12 months.

As if an overtired driver is now going to wake up because he sees these signs.

The Highway 38 is known as one of the most dangerous roads in Israel - It is a 2 lane highway leading to a city that has grown from 20,000 residents to nearly 100,000 residents. The original 2 lane roads are not nearly enough for the needs of Bet Shemesh transportation. With high numbers of people on the road, someone will swerve, or miss one of many curves on the unlit highway, and run into the opposite lane or hit the barrier off the road.

The Ministry of Transportation, in coordination with the Housing and Construction Ministry, in coordination with the city and mayor of Bet Shemesh, have agreed on the need to upgrade the road systems around Bet Shemesh.

The real reason behind the decision is because of the urgency Ariel Attias, Minister of Housing and Construction, feels to build new housing - all around the country, including Bet Shemesh. He cannot build thousands of new apartments in the Bet Shemesh area with the current infrastructure. So thanks to his new push for building, we are finally getting the upgrade we deserve.

They will plan to expand the road, along with increase the lighting.

In addition, they are issuing tenders to complete the development of the Road 10 that has sat unfinished behind BS-RBS for a number of years.

Gotta see it to believe it, but at lest there is hope. If anyone can push this through it is Ariel Attias.

6 comments:

  1. When I moved to RBS eight years ago, I was told about a new road that was going to be built between RBS and Jerusalem. Whatever happened with that, and what route was it supposed to take?

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  2. don't beleive a word of it.
    Maatz has road 38 scheduled for widening in its next 5 year plan anywhere between 2011 and 2016 (assuming it doesn't get budget cut out) and that is only the part from Shaar Hagai til the police station (The plans aren't even apporved yet). The part from the Paz station until RBS noone is even talking about at all. Now the clincher is that the part from the Police sation until the gas station is supposed to be coming from the Train's budget because it includes an overpass over the train. Now Israel Rail has been rumored to be trying to phase out the BS-TA rail line especially as it is hard at work on the express train to Jeru along(underground) Road 1) so the Train doesn't want to put out money on a crossing that they don't wish to use and Maatz says that they aren't going to build their part if the Train won't build theirs (there is some sense in that especially given the current state of that section of road.)
    Good luck Ariel Attias

    ReplyDelete
  3. Several such projects were started in Netanya when we lived there 13 years ago. Passing by recently going to Ikea I see that most of them are still "in progress".

    One can hope though.

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  4. if anyone can get it pushed through, it is Ariel Attias.

    he is the only one who actually did anything in is own ministry in the last government (communications ministry) and pushed through a lot of changes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UPDATE - just heard from the official grapevine that an agreement was actually reached on Kvish 10 and that Maatz is actually going to build it and not the Housing Ministry so that means it should be moved ahead with in the next few years.

    ReplyDelete

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