In March 2021 the JV Shapir Civil & Marine Engineering Ltd (50%) & Impresa Pizzarotti & C. SpA (50%) – had the final breakthrough of the tunnel Yefe Nof . This completed the Highway 16 tunnels excavation in Jerusalem, which started in January 2020. Both tunnels have been mined in poor geotechnical conditions & karst voids, with several segments under an extremely low overburden, with a section width variable up to 25 m.  

In October 2018 the Israeli Government awarded the Joint Venture the EUR 213 million contract, which also involves construction and maintenance of the 5km route over a 25-year concession.  

Pro Iter Progetto Infrastrutture Territorio Srl was in charge of the design (Preliminary, Detailed, and For Construction) of the two twin tunnels.   

Highway 16 is a new entry road to Jerusalem from the west, connecting the National Highway 1 from the Motza area to Givat Shaul and Shmuel Bait Street in Jerusalem near the Givat Mordechai Interchange on Menachem Begin Avenue. Route 16 includes three interchanges  and the twin tube  tunnels  Har Nof (1.5 km) beneath the Har Nof neighbourhood and Yefe Nof ( 1.40 km) beneath the Yefe Nof neighbourhood.   

The entrance to Jerusalem suffers from frequent traffic congestion. The highway is intended to serve the city’s incoming traffic from the west and south, and to improve access to Menachem Begin Avenue, which crosses the city, and to the Givat Shaul area, the National Precinct, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, and southern Jerusalem.  

For further on the project click here and visit https://www.shapir.co.il/en/home/ and https://www.proiter.it/en/. 16/21.