Sources inform ''Globes'' that Ayalon Highways Company Ltd. is planning to add two more lanes from south to north between Kibbutz Galuyot Junction and Hashalom Junction, in order to ease rush-hour traffic. An initial estimate of the cost of the project is NIS 160 million.
The initial plan calls for two separate lanes east of the existing highway. Traffic entering Tel Aviv from the south will use these new lanes to bypass traffic and La Guardia Junction, and rejoin the rest of the highway south of Hashalom Junction. Entrance ramps will replace traffic lights on Hashalom Rd.
The project planning will cost NIS 7 million, and is scheduled to be completed toward the end of 2006, at which point Ayalon Highways Company believes a tender can be published for construction.
750,000 vehicles use the highway daily, triple its planned capacity.
Ayalon Highways Company CEO Arie Bar said, “There’s no magic trick to solving traffic problems on the Ayalon Highway. The smart thing is to combine solutions that give clear priority to public transportation, while providing an alternative for private cars. The project’s priority to enable public transport to enter Tel Aviv without getting stuck in traffic jams.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 25, 2005