The 'Cross-Israel Highway' company, which is paving Highway 6, began drilling this week to examine the ground in the Rechsim area, in preparation for the start of excavation work for the tunnel that will pass under the settlement of Rechsim and for paving the section of road in the area.
According to the planned route of Highway 6, in the section between the Ha'amakim interchange on Highway 75 and the Somech interchange on Highway 79, the road was supposed to pass through the wadi between the Ne'a Beitach and Giva' C neighborhoods in Brachsim - and Givat Al-Harsa, which is scheduled to be built in the community in the coming years and will add about 2,000 housing units to the community.
Planning for the road began a decade ago, during Rabbi Yitzhak Reich's previous term as head of the local council. Even then, Reich expressed his concern about the sight of Sabbath desecration on the one hand and heavy traffic, air pollution and noise, which would violate the rural pastoral character of Rechsim, on the other. Therefore, he asked the planners to examine a possible alternative to paving the road, including digging a tunnel under the ridges.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
The tunnel that will be dug under the ridges, approximately two kilometers long, will be the longest tunnel on Highway 6. The section of the road in the ridges area is currently in the initial stages of construction, with the paving itself expected to be completed by 2017.
In recent days, the head of the council, Rabbi Yitzhak Reich, met in his office with the managers of the northern district of the Trans-Israel Highway and the engineers of the area. The parties discussed the exit at the Rechsim interchange, which is expected to be built on the road, which will allow an exit from Highway 6 from south to north into Rechsim, and the new neighborhood that will be built - Givat Harsa, as well as the implications of the interchange on the development of the new neighborhood.
Due to safety guidelines, it will not be possible to build buildings above the tunnel in the future, so the area above the tunnel will effectively become a 'dead zone.' Therefore, the head of the council is initiating a plan to establish a green park, covering hundreds of dunams, above the tunnel - in the area connecting the old and new ridges.
Meanwhile, in a meeting with the district's supervisor at the Ministry of the Interior, Yosef Mishlev, Rabbi Reich asked to act on all levels to advance the development of Givat Al-Harsa in the settlement.
Givat Al-Harsa is located in the heart of an area with special natural features, with the council emphasizing that everything must be done to establish the new neighborhood, while maximally preserving the natural and environmental values in the area.
