The Carmel Tunnels project was and still is, in general, a controversial issue. From environmental and social aspects to the skyrocketing price from month to month, this is still a lively issue even some five years after the opening of the tunnels to the general public.
It would be correct to devote an entire article to the subject, for a retrospective look at the project after the fact, while analyzing all the relevant aspects. And on this occasion I announce my commitment to publish such an in-depth article on the matter soon. And in the meantime, I invite you to watch a video I filmed and edited about the Neve Shanan interchange of the Carmel tunnels, known by its recommended nickname among the circles of architects and planners in the city as "the spaghetti interchange." You can guess why yourself.
"You just objected to the tunnels. I drive through them and am very satisfied." I also hear this from my best friends, as if this is the test of the tunnels, whether they are satisfied or not.
But my objection was for completely different reasons. For example, I suggested already then to plan the tunnels in advance for the train and not for a private car. I thought that it would be a mistake, at the turn of the millennium, to promote a project that encourages the use of private cars. A railway tunnel would free us from the penalty of doubling and electrifying the coastal railway and perpetuating the disconnection between Haifa and the coasts. I also foresaw the pricing problem, which is now causing the tunnel tolls to become more expensive, and obliges the government to pay the concessionaires tens of millions of shekels every year, and this is in addition to the tolls they charge.