The Jerusalem Municipality has reached agreement with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport on the new timetable for the construction of the city's light railway service. In a document signed yesterday, the municipality undertook to issue the requisite permits and obtained approval for its request that a shuttle bus service to be operated to and from the city center and that the approaches to Jaffa Road remain open while work is in progress.
The document, which was signed by Jerusalem mayor Uri Lapolianski and Municipality director general Yair Maayan, will also provide for the expediting of the construction of the railway track in the city center, while minimizing the disruption to commerce in the area. Accordingly, work on the section between the Mahane Yehuda market and central bus station will commence within six weeks.
In mid-March, City Pass, the consortium building the light railway will begin work on the section from Heshin Street to the Davidka Monument, and this will be followed after the Passover holiday by work on the section between Mahane Yehuda and Safra Square.
A spokesperson for the Jerusalem Municipality said that most of the mayor's demands set out in the new agreement had been met. In contrast to the original program which set a two-year timeline, it was agreed that work on the Jaffa Road interchange would be completed within eighteen months, with work on some sections continuing 24 hours a day.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 1, 2008
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