Tel Aviv Highway Reopens after Sinkhole Sealed

On Sunday morning, the main highway of Tel Aviv was reopened, but Israelis were informed to be prepared for huge traffic delays on the roads.

This is because authorities had opted to seal the sinkhole, which was about 15 meters, and had opened up hours earlier. They were still assessing the damage that the sinkhole had caused.

Closure

Ayalon Highway’s southbound roads had been closed for almost an hour overnight that were heading to the HaShalom Interchange from Ramat Hasharaon.

The site was being assessed by engineers and construction workers, who were able to confirm that no other sinkholes were likely to open up.

The sinkhole had appeared close to the HaShalom Interchange exit and the police said that it would remain closed until Tuesday evening.

On Sunday morning, company experts had given a green signal to Israel Railways to resume operations for their train services from Tel Aviv as per schedule.

Media reports did not cite any sources, but claimed that the current assessment indicated that the construction work done on the nearby Azrieli Spiral Tower was allegedly haphazard.

The tower is said to become the tallest building in Tel Aviv and it was because of its construction work that the sinkhole had appeared in the first place.

The opinions

Shmuel Marko, a Geology professor at Tel Aviv University, said that he was sure that the sinkhole had appeared because of a technical failure that was man-made.

He shared his opinion after having a look at the sinkhole. Late Saturday night, a statement was also issued by the Azrieli Group, which said that it was looking into the incident.

On Sunday, the Transportation Minister of Israel, Merav Michaeli, also issued a warning to those traveling to Tel Aviv via car.

She said that people who could work from home should go for that option, or if they have to travel to Tel Aviv, they should stick to public transportation.

She added that traveling by car was not recommended and that they would bolster public transportation to help people.

The IDF

The headquarters of the military are also located in Tel Aviv, not far from where the sinkhole had opened up.

Therefore, the Israeli Defense Forces also announced that they would keep the arrival of the number of troops at bases in Tel Aviv to a minimum.

Moreover, the IDF also said that due to the delays in traffic expected, the commanders had also been told to be flexible in terms of the arrival time of soldiers from different areas of the country.

It is very rare for sinkholes to open up in the center of Israel. But, an incident in July had resulted in a man dying when a sinkhole had opened up under a swimming pool.

The incident occurred in a home in Karmei Yosef where a party had been happening. The owners had not gotten a permit for constructing a swimming pool.

The Dead Sea region has also seen sinkholes opening up, as human activity, along with climate change are causing the water to recede.