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Behind the scenes of the snow festivities: The people guarding the roads are open in a storm

One by one, the workers of Netivei Israel gathered at the staging point at the Shoresh junction, between shovels, levelers and salt sprinklers, and set out on a mission.

In accordance with the work plan, engineering tools and crews were deployed and worked in shifts and in difficult weather conditions to level the way.

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• Netivei Israel

• snow

• Weather

Keenan Cohen

Friday, February 19, 2021, 10:15 p.m.

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In the video: Clearing roads during a snowstorm (Photo: Netivei Israel)

In December 2013, Israel experienced one of the most memorable winter weather events.

A storm of extraordinary scale raged for two days and resulted in tens of thousands of homes being cut off from electricity without running water, and civilians in need of medical treatment or rescue in Jerusalem and Safed and collected by IDF APCs.

But most of all I remember the pictures of blocked, impassable arteries, and of rows of dozens of cars abandoned on Road 1 and Road 443.

This incident resonated with a conversation with the director of the Central Area of ​​Netivei Israel, Alon Peleg, which took place before the winter storm.

"We do not see a situation of reaching a roadblock. This is our red line," he clarified.

But in order to reach a state of ensuring mobility almost independent of what the future was to rain on the roads, Peleg and his men were required to prepare, which began long before the frozen morning in which they met at the Shoresh interchange.

The snow line of Netivei Israel in numbers

• 360 engineering tools

• 680 professionals

• 220 tons of anti-slip material

• 60 teams at staging points

• 8,500 km of road under the responsibility of Netivei Israel, to which the company is prepared to respond

for further reading

• The mountains were painted white, the sea black: mysterious lumps of tar had reached the shores of the land

• The winter storm: a white morning in Jerusalem and the north, a man dies from hypothermia

• The future is already here: the smart test that detects an increased risk of having a stroke

Work to prevent blockages of hinges.

The deployment of Netivei Israel vehicles at the Shoresh interchange (Photo: Keinan Cohen)

The director of the operations and maintenance division at Netivei Israel, Erez Siskek, said that the company "was prepared on the basis of an orderly work plan."

The preparation plan he intends to implement is as soon as an indication of a winter system is received, especially from the Meteorological Service, with which Netivei Israel works, and according to the service estimates, it prepares the workers and engineering tools in the appropriate points.

According to the director of the maintenance department, Mada Gadban, this is a process that begins long before winter, and in fact began as early as April last year.

The process included road layering work, drainage infrastructure, work to prevent the collapse of trees, preparation of the engineering tools that will provide the operational response and other actions.

"This time we started moving tools 72 hours before the storm started," Peleg said.

"48 hours before we are ready with all the tools at the assembly points and from there they arrive at the staging points."

Equipment arrangement: The tools that keep the hinges free

• Level:

  The long tool is equipped with a huge spoon at its bottom, the spoon with the ability to adjust to height and angle is routinely used for leveling bedding in paving roads, and in the current operation to remove snow from the path

• Shovel: The shovel

  is the main tool of the work that is done during the current activity.

  Its maneuverability is better than its level and its large spoon allows the removal of snow piles piled up on the sides of the axles.

• Backhoe loader:

  "Two-load loader", equipped with an openable front shovel and a rear excavator arm.

  Its advantage is the better maneuverability than that of the leveler and shovel for work in relatively crowded places and the excavation arm which can be used to clear ditches, etc.

• Arrow carts:

  Trailed carts with light fixtures on them that create an "arrow" that directs traffic to a nearby lane or stops it.

  It also contains cones and other markers

• Trailers:

  Designed for loading and quick evacuation of vehicles stuck in axles

• Tour truck:

  Trucks that are routinely used by road hazard management teams.

  In addition to road repairs, a mini loader known as the Bobcat is loaded for light engineering work.

• Service Mobile:

  Used as a first aid vehicle with fuel, wheel replacement services, water or other assistance required for drivers stuck on the road

• Salt spreader: The salt

  spreader installed on a trailer uses the spoons that scatter the salt (regular cooking salt) used to quickly thaw the snow on the roads a path and a half wide behind it

Cops and curious

A look at the staging point clarifies the logistical complexity of event management.

5-4 tow trucks, three vans with arrow carts signaling to drivers that the lane is blocked and loaded with dozens of bags of salt, a huge level, backhoe, shovel, patrol truck with a Bobcat, a service van and the salt spreader are arranged at each of 20 points in the Jerusalem area, including a spot response To the hospitals.

These are joined by dozens of other points in Samaria and the north of the country.

The workers themselves wander among the plethora of engineering tools, road maps spread out on tables and threatening to fly in the wind, traffic cops and curious people photographing the unusual order in the landscape.

When the storm began, they hit the roads, clearing mounds of snow and collapsed trees, working to block dangerous lanes, providing assistance to stranded vehicles and rescuing those who were forced to abandon their passengers on the road, deep into the night.

Axis blockages in Samaria due to the weather, Wednesday (Photo: Reuven Castro)

The deployment of Netivei Israel vehicles at the Shoresh interchange (Photo: Keinan Cohen)

The teams work shifts so as not to erode the vigilance required for activity in harsh weather conditions, low visibility and heavy tools that require concentration and skill.

In contrast, Peleg stayed in place throughout the long night between Wednesday and Thursday, to conduct the operation during his first and critical hours.

From the experience of previous years, the work technique involves early identification of those events that develop in their early stages.

Subsequently, the relevant section of the road was blocked by police vehicles and only later were the engineering tools launched into it.

The idea behind the sterile separation stems from the difficulty of the heavy tools to maneuver on roads laden with cars, which are unable to move in order to make way for the levels, shovels and backhoes.

More on Walla!

NEWS

Forecast: A rainy and stormy weekend, with a slight rise in temperatures

To the full article

It took a long time before the storm began.

Central Area Manager at Netivei Israel, Alon Peleg (Photo: Keinan Cohen)

And this is of course when it comes to the relatively central axes.

In all the mountainous areas around Jerusalem, such as Mount Adar, Bar Giora and the Steppe, Peleg was forced to hope that the residents would avoid moving on the roads during storms.

"These are winding, steep roads with slopes. Not a nice place to get stuck. We do what we can, but if we don't have to drive, don't go out on the roads."

The correct preparation for the stormy weather that has befallen Israel in recent days has paid off.

So far there have been no unusual rescues or unusual events - and the crews have been able to contain what is happening.

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