The demolition of the Maariv Bridge in Tel Aviv could be postponed because of the vast number of people wanting to watch the explosion of one of the city's landmark locations. The bridge at the Carlebach St. and Begin St. junction had been scheduled for demolition on August 20 as part of the works for a nearby underground station in the Tel Aviv light rail.
But yesterday Israel Police held talks on the matter with the NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System, the company responsible for implementing the mass transit project after hearing that thousands of people planned to attend the demolition and witness the explosion. One option is to postpone the explosion until a later date, which would not be announced so far in advance. The police said, "We all want to prevent any public disturbances and look after the safety of the public during the construction of the Tel Aviv light rail."
In a related development 200 small business owners from central Tel Aviv demonstrated by the Maariv Bridge junction yesterday that the works were strangling their busiess, blocking the junction intermittently during the protest.
From today the junction is closed and businesses say that the traffic chaos created will make it difficult for people to come to the area.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 13, 2015
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