Excavations begin on greater Tel Aviv light rail
In an Israeli public transportation first, excavation work begins ahead of schedule on the Greater Tel Aviv light rail system; eight tunnel boring machines are brought in to begin work.
"Golda Meir was the first woman to hold the position of prime minister and she was also among the six to lay a cornerstone here," said Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz, who attended the ceremony alongside Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.
At the start of excavations, which begin four months ahead of schedule, Katz said, "The decision I made in the three previous governments as minister of transportation was to connect the periphery and the center and promote infrastructure projects. The size of the project deterred others from undertaking it for many years and it was neglected. Leadership should not be afraid of challenges in order to change reality."
In sum, eight TBMs will excavate 12 kilometers at a depth of 30 meters under Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv.
The boring will begin under Ayalon Highway and in its first phase, will provide the infrastructure for underground rail stations in Tel Aviv at Arlozorov, King Saul, Yehudit and Carlebach.
Every one of the eight TBMs is roughly 115 meters long and 7.5 meters wide, weighing 900 tons. 20 workers and engineers from China Railway Tunnel Group (CRTG) are with the machine at any given time. The TBM is expected to bore at least 10 meters per day.
