1111DT1 111111 ill W'

Road 6 will link the periphery
with the center of the country, en-
abling population dispersion from
the crowded center. "The better
the road," says Dr. Yehuda
Sheinin, president of Economic
Models Ltd., "the more it draws
people outward from the city cen-
ters."
It will also attract businesses,
commercial enterprises and fac-
tories to the periphery, especial-
ly to areas around the
interchanges, helping to allevi-
\ ate population congestion even
further and spurring economic
development. This, in turn, will
lead to increased tourism and crL,-
ation of hotels and restaurants.
, So what's the hitch? Road 6 is
opposed by every major environ-
mental group in Israel on the
grounds that it will di sfigure the
landscape, destroy priceless pre-
serves of plant and animal life
and pollute the countryside.
Environmentalists do not dis-
pute the fact that Israel's trans-
portation system does not meet
the country's needs. But, they ar-
gue, the government should con-
centrate on improving existing
roads and interurban public
transportation. "This road isn't
being built to relieve traffic con-
gestion," says Yoav Sagi, chair-
man of the Society for the
Protection of Nature in Israel. "A
good train or bus service would
do that. It is being built with an
eye to national elections in 1996."
Environmentalists also note
that because the plans for the
road were presented in sections,
instead of as an overall project,
the Interior Ministry's National
Planning and Construction Coun-
cil did not prepare one environ-
mental impact report covering
the entire highway. In June 1994,
the Israel Union for Environ-
mental Defense petitioned the Is-
raeli High Court and the court
ordered the Trans-Israel High-
way Corporation to show cause
why no such reporting was ever
carried out. The matter is still
pending.
Opponents of the highway ex-
press fears of urban sprawl in-
vading the countryside, resulting
in more gas stations, restaurants
and shopping centers at the ex-
pense of agricultural land, scenic
landscape and untouched open
spaces. •
"The massive strengthening of
the transportation infrastructure
along this axis will bring settle-
ments on the periphery in the
north and south even closer to the
center and will actually hold back
the development of Haifa and
Beersheva," warned Meir Ben
Meir, former director general of
the Agricultural . Ministry and
head of the Agricultural Research
Authority.
The Trans-Israel Highway
Corporation maintains that the
environmentalists' claims are ex-

HIGHWAY page R16

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