Owner: Netivei Israel National Transport Infrastructure Company
Cost: $88.3 million
Project Delivery: Design-Build
Contractor: Solel Boneh Infrastructure
Design: Levy Shtark Engineers
Management Consultant: AVIV AMCG
Rating System Version: Greenroads v2
Project Length: 6 km (36 lane-kilometers)
Functional Class: Highway
Description
The Road 77 - Tel Kashish to Ramat Ishay project involves a combination of widening and new construction of 6 kilometers of the Road 77 highway, a regional roadway in the Upper Galilee region of Israel. The project will connect local communities, build new agricultural roads, and installing bike paths connecting to the nearby Yokneam train station. In addition to increasing accessibility between villages and the business center of Tel Aviv, the project reduces noise and light pollution for the surrounding area with new permanent noise barriers and LED lighting.
Features
Sustainable features of the highway include responsible construction practices, extensive landscaping, and stormwater management. Project highlights include:
74% of materials and supplies purchased and sourced locally
4 kilometers of new bike lanes and 12 kilometers of new sidewalks connecting to nearby rail transit
Contractor holds ISO Certified Quality Management and Environmental Management Systems, as well as an OSHAS Certified Occupational Health and Safety Management System
27% less operating energy use with LED light fixtures, also reducing light pollution and glare
Significant revegetation of project corridor including removal of invasive species and preservation of native geophytes and the preservation of local oak trees
34% reduction in perceived ambient noise levels throughout the corridor, reducing roadway noise by at least 6dBA
Lessons
This is a pilot project that converted to a successful certification.
The team advises that they expect the process to be easier with practice, after the first time. They participated in two group trainings for the whole team. It was a large team effort lead by a small group within the contractor team and a STP from the management consultant.
They invested time in translation from Hebrew to English for key documents. This occurred after documents already existed for some time. Greenroads certification was brand new to them, so this was not an anticipated requirement up-front. It would have been easier if this had been a decision earlier in design. The Principal Owner facilitated this translation to support their certification goal because the project was already awarded.
The team recommends starting earlier with certification, specifically before construction (in design) or else initiated under the lead of the prime contractor.