Tthe Marker, Gili Melnitsky, 25.03.2020

On the one hand, the state is promoting the metro project - the ambitious infrastructure project it has known, which will include 145 km of underground tracks, with 108 stations in 24 local authorities - but on the other hand, the project may halt residential construction, commerce and employment on a huge scale.

This picture emerges from an urgent request sent in recent days by the Association of Construction and Infrastructure Engineers, the Contractors Association and the Association of Architects, to the bodies responsible for the metro project - including Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Finance Minister Israel Katz, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Director General of Planning Administration Dalit Zilber And Nata CEO Haim Glick.

The appeal focuses on directing restrictions on underground construction in a space of about 40 meters on each side of the metro route. The directive prohibits excavation below a depth of ten meters and according to the signatories of the letter, it means damage to thousands of projects and the construction of tens of thousands of apartments and thousands of square meters of employment and commerce.

"The plans, which are being promoted at a predatory rate, limit construction on an area of ​​about 18,000 dunams without engineering justification. They suffer from planning problems that will cause irreversible damage and weeping for generations," it was written.

"This is a huge imposition of space limits throughout the Gush Dan metropolitan area, on the width of the metro strip and its surroundings in an area of ​​120 meters. The shallow depth, which is limited in plans to 5-10 meters, leads to an unreasonable result," the applicants claim. "It will not be possible to build dense and tall construction in the Gaza Strip along the metro lines. This is contrary to the purpose of the metro plan - the largest infrastructure plan in Israel with an investment of NIS 150 billion - designed to promote and encourage dense construction along the metro, without relying on private transportation."

According to the signatories of the letter, the excavation depth sometimes required in construction projects - greater than ten meters and is necessary in many cases, due to limitations of the foundation structure, dipping, excavation and construction of underground functions that serve the buildings - both for basements and foundations or in response to engineering constraints Certain. The excavation, they argue, is not necessarily for parking lots, the need for which should certainly be avoided.

According to the initiators of the application, the direct meaning of the plans is the loss of thousands of dunams that are "lost", and vital and necessary construction in the urban space that is supposed to be crowded can not be promoted - in accordance with the Planning Administration's goals and strategic housing plan. The government's decisions set a target for 2040 of 630,000 new apartments approved in the planning institutions in the Central District, and another 425,000 new apartments are planned in the Tel Aviv District. It now appears that this target is moving away.

"Case by case"

According to Israel David, acting chairman of the Association of Construction and Infrastructure Engineers, "This is a Bolshevik, administrative and sweeping decision that ignores professional planning considerations, supersedes the engineers and leaves the decisions to lawyers and lawyers, who do not understand that they set foot on Gush Dan residents and tens of thousands of families. ".

"Already today, there are excavations and underground structures near the metro that will not be in danger, but they still choose to stop and delay projects," says David.

"For what and for whom is Metro being built with an investment of billions - if it is impossible to build around it, in a sweeping way and without matter-of-fact engineering judgment."

The vice president of the Contractors Association, Haim Feiglin, believes that the contractors and developers working in Gush Dan are emerging these days into a new reality that stems from the restrictions of the promoted plans.

"There is no doubt at all that the metro is an important and vital project," Feiglin stressed, "but its execution undermines the purpose of the metro and the density required." "To say that along a strip in the heart of demand areas can not fall below ten meters, it is basically to eliminate the possibility of tall and significant projects, or buildings that require sensitivity in terms of soil type, foundation form, consideration of building weight above and more. We are willing to take responsibility for construction. Will hit the metro lines. "

The letter calls for engineers, architects and contractors to change the provisions of the proposed plans and are currently in various statutory stages so that the local committee and NAA engineers can examine each case individually in relation to the field unit and the proposed plan, and give the relevant local committee the authority to exceed the limit.

According to the proposal, in cases that will be engineered, it will also be possible to build high-intensity residential, commercial and office buildings, while descending to a depth of 15-20 meters, if required by engineering. The authors of the letter also demanded that a professional team be set up with their participation, in order to enable optimal and rapid realization of the metro project.

It is worth noting that the letter from the Association of Engineers, the Contractors Association and the Association of Architects - concerns construction plans along the metro lines, and not in a discussion to be held this week at the National Planning and Building Council, which will freeze plans and restrict construction near metro stations in Givatayim, Petah Tikva, Herzliya, Holon, Tel Aviv and Rosh .

"Economic Considerations"

The Ministry of Finance responded: "The construction constraints arising from the metro plans and the claims in relation to them are being examined as part of the planning process in the National Infrastructure Committee. All relevant professional considerations, including economic ones, will be taken into account."

The Planning Administration said: "The metro project is one of the most complex projects planned, and has many implications for the built environment in the area. The longer it is delayed, the harder it will be to advance in the built environment. Planning is promoted in an orderly and intensive process based on the 2016 public transportation strategic plan. And a feasibility study conducted in 2019 by international companies specializing in the development of metro systems.The programs are based on global practice and trends in the leading OECD cities on the one hand, and local conditions on the other.

"As for the construction restrictions above the stations and the metro route - a leading planning principle in the location of the stations is the best service for the passenger, for this purpose the metro stations are located as shallow as possible, to ensure minimum arrival times and fast passage between the various means of transport. In order to reduce the construction restrictions, the tunnels were placed, as far as possible, over roads, so the claim that there is damage to thousands of dunams is fundamentally unfounded.

"Three of the metro's four plans have been submitted for objections, and the public is invited to submit their comments on the plans within the statutory period of time."