The northern segment of Road 6 (The Yitzhak Rabin Highway, also known as the Cross-Israel Highway) between the Iron Junction and Yokne'am was yesterday opened to traffic after two years of construction. The 18-kilometer segment will enable drivers to move between central Israel to Haifa suburbs, bypassing traffic jams and greater shortening travel time.
With the completion of the northern segment, Road 6 no stretches 140 kilometers from the Beit Kama Junction, just north of Beersheva, in the south, to Yokne'am, southeast of Haifa, in the north. The northern segment cost NIS 1.3 billion to build, of which the state provided NIS 500 million.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Transport Israel Katz, and Africa-Israel chairman Lev Leviev.
Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY) owns Road 6 operator Derech Eretz Highways Ltd., along with Shari Arison-controlled Shikun u'Binui Holdings Ltd. (Housing and Construction) (TASE: HUCN), and Canadian engineering company Aecon Construction Group Inc. (TSX: ARE).
Netanyahu said that the government was determined to continue construction of Road 6 northward to Nahariya, and southward to Beersheva. He said that he had instructed Israel National Roads Company Ltd. and Cross Israel Highway Company to build a road connecting Road 6 to Kiryat Shmona in the northern Galilee. "I call Road 6 the road that connects Israel because it links the north and the south. The combination of land reform and investment in roads and railway infrastructures will enable young couples to buy cheap homes," he said.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 21, 2009
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