Cross Israel Highway Ltd. is planning to extend the Road 6 Beersheva bypass east of the city, over the objections of the Ministry of Finance. The ministry has a strong argument: the asphalt of the Road 40 Beersheva bypass is barely dry, and the company wants another road to bypass the Negev capital. The Road 6 extension is meant to serve the IDF Training Base City and Intelligence Corps base, now under construction south of the city, at a combined cost of NIS 42 billion, including NIS 23 billion for the Training Base City alone.
The IDF bases raise a logical question: shouldn’t the Road 6 extension be accompanied by a railway line to carry the thousands of soldiers to and from the bases?
The idea sounds great, as railways are at the heart of public transport principles. Railways will reduce traffic accidents, save fuel, and reduce air pollution. There is a winning argument as well: the government has already announced plans for a railway line to Eilat, so there is no reason why it cannot pass via the bases at the Negev Junction and Shoket Junction.
Despite the logic, as things stand now, as a senior Israel Railways official has confirmed, Cross Israel Highway has not been granted permission to submit a detailed plan for such a railway line, alongside the highway.
This raises the opposite question: maybe there is no urgency in building the Road 6 Beersheva bypass at all, but simply extend the railway line to the Training Base City at the Negev Junction and the Intelligence Corps base at Shoket Junction.
Cross Israel Highway believes that the narrow Road 40 Beersheva bypass is already irrelevant, and that a wide bypass highway is needed in view of Beersheva's eastward growth, notwithstanding the Ministry of Finance's objections. As for the absence of a railway line, the company says that the plan for it is waiting for approval for a detailed plan, but that it believes that such a plan will only become practical only after a decision to build an international airport at Nebatim.
As for the train-vs.-car debate, the Ministry of Defense is planning parking lots for 4,000 cars at the NIS 19 billion Intelligence Corps base - double the size of the parking garages at Tel Aviv's Azrieli Center. The ministry argues that it already has to fight hard to keep skilled manpower at the 8200 computer unit, and that the unit's high-tech personnel deserve to have company cars to get to work. This necessitates a big parking lot.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 12, 2012
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