One of Israel’s largest construction companies, Solel Boneh has broken through on the $12M, 1.2km long Scopus road tunnel project in Jerusalem.
The two 600m drives, 10m wide and 8.5m high began simultaneously from the eastern portal in October 1999 after contract award in August 1999 by client Moriya (Jerusalem’s City Development Company). Each advance began with a pilot tunnel using forepoling, which broke through in August 2000, followed by full excavation using two roadheaders and a Caterpillar D229 hammer. The bench down excavation of both drives through soft rock, a mixture of chalk and marl, broke through on the 15 May.
The primary lining support consists of a steel arc profile using steel net and shotcrete. Secondary lining will be two layers of steel net and a 25cm width of concrete.
The two lane tunnels will connect the roads from the Dead Sea and Israeli’s savannah to Jerusalem to provide an additional and more efficient entrance to the capital city from the east. Completion is due in January 2002.
Project manager, Shimshom Tzobery told T&TI, “we needed to increase the number of roads to and inside Jerusalem without interrupting the special view of our old city.”
“The potential is huge,” he went on. “Israel is a small country with a high vehicle growth rate, and the big cities such as Tel-Aviv and Haifa are packed with no solution for parking zones.
“We have a few other tunnels in design like the metro in Tel-Aviv, and one in Haifa. In my opinion, it’s not enough, it’s like a drop in the sea.” he said.
