|
One of the most affecting factors of real-estate demand is accessibility to and from the place of residence. The positive effect of the railway on the real-estate markets in Binyamina, Zichron Yaacov and the surrounding area, has been regularly discussed in the last few years. Now, with the completion of segment 18 of highway 6 ("Hotze Israel", we are expecting an additional stimulant in our region. Here are the details: The construction of highway 6 was proposed as early as 1976 as part of the "TAMA 3 " program, a national overall plan, as a central longitudinal axis that will support the main longitudinal axes, the "old" and "new" Tel-Aviv - Haifa highways, 4 and 2 accordingly, and will provide a route bypassing the Dan region traffic. In the early 90s the highway was finally designed in its present form, a 300km highway beginning in the southern region near Be'er-Sheva, and ending in two northern locations - one near Kiryat-Shmona and the other near Nahariya. The interchange nearest to us is located near Eiron stream in Vadi-Ara, where the northernmost part of the highway is currently located. Work is currently in progress for the completion of segment 18, starting in Eiron stream and ending in Ein-Tut, about 10km east of Zichron Yaacov on route 70 near Hagit power plant. Segment 18 is 17 km in length. The highway crosses a beautiful strip of Israel, and many objections for its creation were raised by environmentalists during its planning, objections that were eventually overruled. In spite of our grief, we will take comfort in traveling through an incredibly beautiful region that would have evaded the eyes of many if the highway would not have been built. Highway 6's segment 18 includes several engineering challenges such as protecting the national water-pipe system, which also exists in part of the highway's route near Kibbutz Regavim, building two interchanges, bridges and such. An additional engineering challenge is solving the religious issue of tombs discovered near the planned route west of Kibbutz Regavim. Recently, Prime Minister Olmert has been asked to address this issue, though no cheap, fast and acceptable solution was found. As of now it is possible that segment 18 will not be opened before 2009. With the inauguration of segment 18, traveling south to the central and southern region will take a significantly lower amount of time. The speed limit of highway 6 is 110 km/h, and the estimated time it will take to reach Ben-Gurion airport from route 70 is 50 minutes only. The people who will benefit from the highway are mostly those living near the interchanges which are currently being constructed at the ends of segment 18, meaning residents of Yokneam and Zichron Yaacov heading south, and residents of Pardes-Hana - Karkur headed north. And how will segment 18 affect real-estate in our area? We expect it to have a positive effect. Settlements that are located far from main routs, but close to segment 18, such as Ramot-Menashe and Regavim, are already receiving increased attention from purchasers. Other settlements such as Yokneam and Zichron Yaacov appeal to people working near Rosh-Ha'ain and Ben-Gurion airport. |
