Metro advances, construction stops Israel today

Severe restrictions on new construction in a 120-meter strip of metro lines.

Professionals: There is no logic in sweeping restrictions

• Metro.

  Sweeping restrictions on construction

  Photography: 

  envato elements

Produced by the Department of Special Supplements

The metro will cause restrictions on construction in Israel of a whopping 18,000 dunams in the center of the country.

In New York, Paris or London you can get in and out of the subway, underground or metro from an existing building.

So why do we intend to limit underground construction in a 120-meter strip and prevent construction next to the stations?

The imposition of engineering restrictions throughout Gush Dan undermines the logic of the replica investments planned in the metro project, when no new apartment, employment or commercial construction will be possible adjacent to the metro line.

Dreamland?

Central professional organizations, representing the engineers, contractors, architects and appraisers, jointly fight against the metro planning procedures, through the Association of Construction and Infrastructure Engineers in Israel, the Association of Contractors Builders, the Association of Architects and Urban Builders in Israel and the Real Estate Appraisers Chamber.

The organizations jointly wrote a letter to Transport Minister Miri Regev, Finance Minister Israel Katz and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri.

As you may recall, Minister Regev recently expressed opposition to the metro and provoked outrage in the public.

On the other hand, all professionals welcomed the Metro, a very significant project for the State of Israel, which will improve the mass transit system and streamline the economy.

According to the letter from the representatives of the organizations, the programs are being promoted "with a predatory speed, while dictating disproportionate and unprofessional solutions, both in terms of engineering and planning. All this, without in-depth discussions, without optimal planning and without hearing the relevant professional factors." Such, which will dramatically affect planning in the center of the country. "

It turns out that within more than 100 pages of the plan's provisions lies a dramatic limitation: a ban on excavation and foundation to a depth of more than 10 meters in plots adjacent to a 120-meter-wide route.

This is a sweeping directive for every 150 km of the metro.

Due to the restrictions, it will not be possible to build dense and high-rise construction in the strip along the metro lines.

This is contrary to the purpose of the program, to reduce dependence on private transportation by creating an accessible array of mass transit.

Talking real estate with Ofer Petersburg. Listen to the new podcast >>

According to the authors of the letter, the damage to strips of land 120 meters wide across the entire Gush Dan is unreasonable, while the width of the metro strip is only 40 meters, at a depth of 40 meters underground.

Professionals claim that the engineering and planning system in Israel knows how to present professional engineering solutions while establishing the buildings above the metro strip and take on the responsibility that is required for the buildings and tunnels.

According to professionals, there is no engineering logic in sweeping restriction to the entire area, with various factors affecting construction, including soil type, form of foundation, weight of structure, metro depth and metro distance from building foundation points.

Moreover, the metro plans include only rough planning, which leaves too wide a discretion, without sufficient control and without regard to the conditions of the area and the needs arising from such a complex project.

The State of Israel is going to invest about half of the annual state budget in the metro system in the Gush Dan area.

It starts at NIS 150 billion, but until construction is complete no one will be surprised if costs double.

"The restrictions can reach the point of impossibility of construction close to the metro lines," says senior engineer Israel David, who until recently was the acting chairman of the Standards Institute and acting chairman of the Association of Infrastructure Engineers.

David makes it difficult: "Why build a metro in Israel, if 120 meters around it it is impossible to establish the foundations of buildings? If there are problematic places, why is the situation the same at every 150 km?"

And what about the structures that already exist, how can they survive and new structures not?

Is Metro planned and what does it do to the environment does not matter? ".

Ron Huldai, mayor of Tel Aviv and chairman of the 15th Cities Forum, also appealed to the government and warned against seizing too large areas for ancillary infrastructure. For example, planning a huge 60-dunam car park in the heart of an emerging urban fabric, instead of exploring an alternative Of high-rise construction and without checking the transportation capacity of the area.

"Precisely on a project of this scale, which is undisputed in importance, caution must be exercised and damage created that will remain with us for generations to come," Huldai wrote, demanding that the process be stopped until the discussion with the local authorities is exhausted.

Planning Manager: Professional Procedure

The planning director's response letter to the organizations' representatives stated:

"The metro is one of the most complex projects planned in the State of Israel, and it undoubtedly has many implications for construction in the area. The project planning is promoted in an orderly, professional and in-depth process. The plans are based, among other things, on global practice. The planning procedures for the four metro plans are ongoing. At the stage of submitting comments and objections. "

Sources in the planning directorate said that the metro tunnels are designed at a low depth, to allow passengers a quick passage, and therefore severe restrictions on construction are required.

They noted that in some places the route passes over the roads, so the claim that the limit applies to 18,000 dunams is unfounded.

Produced by the Department of Special Supplements