Two major changes will mark the landscape in and around Jerusalem, according to plans that have received final or near-final approval: A train-track bridge and a new entrance.
Environmental groups were very disappointed to learn that the subcommittee of the National Planning and Building Committee has approved a 144-meter-long bridge in the middle of a pristine forest-and-stream area west-north-west of Jerusalem, for the high-speed Tel Aviv-Jerusalem train route. The bridge is set to join two tunnels near Nataf and Kiryat Ye’arim (Telz Stone), over the Yitla Stream and the Black Canyon.
Greens Oppose, City Favors
Green groups had hoped to get the committee to agree to change the plans and build one long tunnel, instead of the tunnel-bridge-tunnel arrangement that was approved. The decision is not final, however. The full National Planning and Building Committee must still review and decide the issue next month.
Israel Railways and the Jerusalem Municipality are in favor of the bridge plan. They say that a change now would be expensive and could put the entire plan in jeopardy. As it is, the train route is not expected to be completed for seven years. The green groups, however, say there is no chance that the changes would totally derail the plan, and that the interests of saving the natural area must take priority.
The new train route is expected to reduce train-travel time between Israel’s two largest cities from well over an hour today to a half-hour. Some 28,000 passengers are expected to use the new line, according to an Israel Railways report – saving an estimated 20,000 hours per day of car-travel time. The city believes the new route will help reverse the emigration trend from the city, and will reduce countrywide air pollution by a full 0.5%.
Twin Towers at City Entrance
Meanwhile, some ten kilometers away as the crow flies, Jerusalem’s entrance will undergo a major face-lift, according to the recently-announced winner of a tender to design the area. The architectural firm of Farhi-Tzafrir beat out three other competitors in the second and last stage of the competition, with a bid termed “developed and rich” by the judges.
The winning plan “clearly defines secondary areas, with flexible planning potential. The towers are placed in the correct location, and they maintain the emphasis of the Bridge of Strings and the entrance to the city… The new area proposed south-east of the bridge [currently used as a parking lot for buses – ed.] creates a new urban opportunity.”