"I heard today that a Ministry of Finance office said that Highway 1 was unnecessary, and I felt relieved. This is the best sign that it will succeed," Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz told Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) today. Katz was responding to complaints that it takes longer to travel between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem since the Harel tunnels and Motza Bridge opened last month to replace the Harel (Castel) Interchange and Motza curve.
"When I arrived, Highway 1 was obsolete and without shoulders. The work will be completed in a few months, and the new highway will replace a dangerous road… I never said that it would be possible to go from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv in 35 minutes. The entire road with all its lanes will be completed in May, with all its usefulness, and it will be much better and more open than it was. Because it's Jerusalem, as soon as some MKs and journalists get caught in traffic jams, everyone is full of complaints. Right now, the whole argument is because traveling is in two lanes, while work is taking place on a third lane," Katz remarked.
Concerning the thousands of new cars on the roads each month, Katz commented, "There's no law against people buying cars. You're not proposing going back to the days of the Soviet Union. People have the right to buy cars. The level of motorization in Israel is a third of what it is in the US, and half of what it is in Europe."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on February 9, 2017
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