Danya Cebus Ltd. (TASE: DNYA) has won the Israel National Roads Company Ltd. tender to build two bridges on Road 1 (the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway) over the Motza Valley. The NIS 170 million project is for the construction of two 800-meter bridges with three lanes in each direction and wide shoulders. The spans will be 3-25 meters above the valley floor, and will take into consideration the unique landscape and historic value of the area.
Work on the bridges will begin in 2013, and will take two and a half years.
Under the terms of the tender, the contractors competed under the cost-time method; the winner was the company that offered the best weighted cost - the lowest price and shortest construction time. The objective of this method is to minimize the work's disruption to the public. This is the fourth of the five tenders for rebuilding the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway.
Seven bids by top Israeli infrastructure contractors were submitted in the Motza Valley bridges tender. Danya Cebus, the contracting arm of Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL), controlled by Lev Leviev, won the tender, and joins the winners of previous tenders for the Road 1 upgrade project: Mordechai Binyamin & Sons Earthworks (1993) Ltd., which will upgrade the 6.5 kilometer stretch between Sha'ar Hagai and Shoresh; Gili and Yoel Azaria Ltd., which won the tender to upgrade the stretch from Shoresh to the Hemed Interchange by Abou Ghosh; and Hofrey Hasharon Ltd.
The upgraded Road 1 is one of the most important infrastructure projects that will be carried out by the Ministry of Transport and the Roads Company in the coming years. The NIS 2.5 billion project includes the construction of a network of bridges, tunnels and interchanges on the 16-kilometer section of the highway between the western entrance to Jerusalem and Sha'ar Hagai. The road is planned to handle heavy projected traffic; it already suffers from severe congestion. The project includes adding a third lane in each direction along the entire section, widening the shoulders, reducing the gradients, and straightening the bends, including by digging tunnels beneath the Harel Interchange and building bridges over the Motza Valley.
A new interchange will be built at Neve Ilan, and the Ein Hemed Interchange will be replaced and upgraded. The bottleneck, which causes severe congestion, at the exit from Jerusalem where Road 1 and Road 9 converge will be eliminated. The easier gradients will reduce the number of vehicles that break down on the road, causing huge traffic jams, after failing to overcome the steep gradients.
The new road will improve safety and reduce fuel consumption and air pollution. It will have electronic sensors for traffic management and control.
Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz said, "The new highway to Jerusalem is one of the most important traffic arteries in Israel. Its widening to three lanes, the mining of tunnels, and the building of bridges will give the capital a worthy road."
Roads Company general manager Shai Baras said, "When the project is completed, travelers to Jerusalem will enjoy a fast, comfortable, and safe trip to the capital. The new bridge will span the valley protecting its natural value, eliminate the dangerous Motza curve, and ease the area's well-known steep gradient. This will reduce fuel consumption and air pollution, shorten travel time, and reduce traffic congestion."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 25, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012