100 Million Shekels: Will a new bypass end traffic jams in Netanya's east?

The Netanya Municipality has begun an NIS 100 million project for a new bypass road, aimed at easing severe traffic jams in the eastern part of the city that impact residents' quality of life.

  Tzameret Plan of Netanya. (photo credit: Buchman Hoekman Architects Ltd.)
Tzameret Plan of Netanya.
(photo credit: Buchman Hoekman Architects Ltd.)

With an investment of approximately NIS 100 million: The Netanya Municipality, through the N.P.C. (Netanya Development Company), has announced the start of the project to pave the eastern Netanya bypass road. The road will connect in the north to a multi-level interchange on Road 57 and in the south to Road 561, which is currently being constructed by the Israel National Roads Company. The length of the road is approximately 3.6 km, with an expected completion time of about 30 months.

This project is being carried out as part of an umbrella agreement, with joint funding from the Israel Land Authority and the Netanya Municipality. The road will include public transportation lanes, an eastern sidewalk/promenade, bicycle paths, lighting systems, landscaping, and tree planting, as well as water, sewage, and drainage systems.

Additionally, the drainage system for the road will connect to the planned conduit for the diversion of the Nordia Stream, which is also being advanced in parallel. A key and important component of the project is the integration of the burial of overhead power lines along the road corridor, which is also being carried out by N.P.C. as part of the road infrastructure. The burial will allow for the continued marketing of the lots in the Tzameret neighborhood area by the Israel Land Authority.

The project includes three central city-wide components that will contribute to residents' welfare:

- An eastern bypass road that will significantly ease traffic in the eastern part of the city, connecting Road 57 with the under-construction Road 561, which is proceeding after insistence from the mayor, Miriam Feirberg-Ikar, on the matter.

- The rerouting and burial of an existing overhead power line below the bypass road.

- The northern diversion of the Nordia Stream, in a way that will prevent repeated flooding of the neighborhoods of Neot Gan and Neve Itamar.

The total cost of the three components is about NIS 350 million.

The area of the Tzameret plan (the "banana") spans approximately 93 hectares. The plan includes 3,100 housing units in high-density construction and multi-story buildings + 400 sheltered housing units, as well as a diverse range of open public spaces and public buildings, commerce and, as mentioned, a bypass road. The plan borders the eastern side of Netanya, adjacent to the old neighborhoods of Amalia, Neot Gan, and Kiryat Hasharon. It also includes the park that will be established along the bypass road.