Serious crisis on Highway 6: The State Comptroller's report published today (Tuesday) shows that the average speed on certain sections of the road dropped to 36 km/h during the morning peak hours, and to 47 km/h in the afternoon - all this on a road where the speed limit is 120 km/h.
The data indicates a worrying trend: the cumulative growth rate of traffic on Highway 6 in the central section from 2003 to 2019 was 273%. Until 2017, the average annual growth rate was about 8.8%, but even after slowing to 4.6%, the road is still unable to handle the load.
The forecast for the future is even more worrying: by 2030, the average speed on the road is expected to decrease by between 51% and 70% compared to the current situation. The annual damage to the economy from not implementing the road expansion is calculated for 2030 at approximately 390 million NIS.
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Despite the dramatic decline in the level of service, road fares remain extremely high, with significant gaps between the various segments.
For example, the fare on section 18 of Highway 6 in the central section for an occasional passenger is 15.22 NIS, compared to 11.01 NIS on Highway 6 North - a gap of 64.2%, despite the geographical proximity and similar topography.
The audit reveals that the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Finance, and the Cross-Israel Company did not work in cooperation with the concessionaire to change the toll structure of the central section of Highway 6. This is despite the increasing congestion on the road, and unlike what is customary on the expressway, where there is a dynamic toll that increases as congestion increases.
The report also points to a serious problem in the maintenance of Highway 6 South, which is maintained by NTI. There is a gap of one billion shekels between the amount required for maintenance (2.4 billion shekels per year) and the amount actually budgeted (1.4 billion shekels as of 2023).
Another problem that emerges from the report concerns the expansion of the road: Although the heavy loads were already known in 2020, the Ministry of Transportation only began discussions on expanding Highway 6 in 2022. In practice, the third addendum to the concession agreement for expanding Highway 6 was only signed in August 2022.
Following this, State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman recommends that the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Finance, and the Cross-Israel Transportation Company examine and consider the possibility of creating a uniform, consistent, and non-fluctuating fare structure that would be tailored to the type of vehicle, type of subscription, and distance traveled. This is to prevent significant gaps in fares and provide passengers with transparency that will allow them to make more appropriate decisions.
