The Commission on National Infrastructures is chaired by… O. Chairman lawyer Benny Arbiwa approved for submission to the government a new drainage plan for the Ayalon creek basin, the absence of which has delayed the construction of the fourth track of the coastal railway for seven years.
The operation plan for the fourth line, approved back in 2018, was conditioned by the creation of rainwater retention facilities in the upper reaches of the Yarkon and Ayalon creek basin to reduce the flow in the Ayalon Canal.
Initially, four drainage sites were proposed: Ariel Sharon Park, Mishmar Ayalon area, Modi’in Quarry and Nesher Quarry. However, before the plan was approved in 2022, it became clear that the accumulation of water in the Nesher quarry could cause significant environmental damage, so progress on the plan was stopped.
The new plan calls for replacing the Nesher quarry with two new storage and drainage reservoirs: one on Natuf Creek, near the Adam base and the Naot Kdumim Nature Reserve, and the second on Ayalon Creek south of Or Yehuda.
The facilities will allow water to accumulate for several hours and then be released downstream in a controlled manner after the flood ends.
The fourth track of the coastal railway is an important part of the public transport development plan, since at the moment the capacity of three tracks is no longer sufficient.