Meet Omri Raz, an Engineer at Cementcal, who led the Red-Line Light Rail Project
“The Red Line is the main route and backbone of the Light Rail project. Its upper and lower tracks will pass through the busiest areas of the Tel-Aviv metropolis and serve large populations of passengers from Tel-Aviv, Bat-Yam, Ramat-Gan, Bnei-Brak, Petach-Tikvah and Rishon-Letzion.
Our first mission was to plan and prepare the ground and subsoil. This included excavations of 18 meters below groundwater level, at five central stations: Arlozorov, Shaul Hamelech, Allenby, Abba-Hillel and Bialik. At these stations, we constructed Hydromel retaining walls, Bentonite pickets to divert traffic, and a pumping system consisting of pumping wells and infiltration wells.
As the project was built around main traffic routes, through which 500,000 vehicles a pass each day, our biggest challenge was being confined to a narrow 12 square-meters workspace, parallel to the tunneling work. Our logistic preparation, the planning of an integrated pumping system for the stations and our optimal utilization of time, were factors that helped us to complete the mission successfully.
The Red Line is one of the most important and fascinating projects I have ever led. After its completion, millions of citizens will be able to commute to and from the Tel-Aviv metropolis easily, quickly and safely.”
Facts and Figures:
Time Frame: 2016-2020
Client: NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd.
