The Kerem Tunnel allows for a unique hiking and riding experience.
The Kerem Tunnel is the first bicycle tunnel in Israel and was opened as part the Jerusalem Ring Path, a 42-kilometer cycle route that circles Jerusalem, the capital city.
נווה פריצקי The tunnel connects Nahal Refaim and Emek Motza. The southern entrance is in Refaim Park under Ein Laban. נווה פריצקי The northern entry, Nahal Ein Kerem, is just half a kilometer away from the Kerem junction.
נווה פריצקי The 2.1-kilometers-long tunnel project was inaugurated in a ceremony on Thursday , attended by Jerusalem and Heritage Minister Ze'evElkin, Mayor Moshe Lion, Gihon water company chairman Avi Baleshnikov and hundreds of cyclists.
Jerusalem was once a very well-known tourist destination due to its rich history. Elkin said that the present tourism industry is one of Jerusalem's treasures from the past and also incorporates modern tourism. "The opening of this tunnel project is another part of the development of the city of Jerusalem and its transformation into an attractive city that is attractive to all types of visitors throughout Israel and around the world."
The ministry of Elkin, which also in charge of the project together with Jerusalem Municipality, declared that his ministry "invests hundreds of millions of shekels every year in all aspects of Jerusalem’s tourism and in creating new ventures and attractions that link the amazing historical history of our capital city and its future." I invite the cycling community to ride a secure and modernized route that will take the cyclist through Old Jerusalem.
Around NIS 25 million were put into in the project, budgeted by Elkin's ministry, the Tourism Ministry, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Gihon Corporation and the Jerusalem Purification and Sewerage Works, as well as the work done by the Jerusalem Development Authority.
Elkin said, "The Kerem Tunnel project will be the central tool in achieving our goal to change the concept transportation throughout Jerusalem." "The new tunnel that connects to Jerusalem Ring Path will join existing bicycle paths and ones that are paved in its neighborhoods. It is intended to promote biking among the residents of Jerusalem and encourage the green movement in the capital."
נווה פריצקי The Kerem Tunnel, originally excavated by the Gihon Corporation in the 1990s in order to move its main sewer line to the Sorek purification plant.
"The Kerem Tunnel Project is essential to realize the vision of changing the transportation concept all over Jerusalem. "
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe León
To make the tunnel usable to the public year-round The works comprise road construction as well as the installation of blowers.
The Kerem Tunnel also allows access to special recreation areas - including the Ein Kerem neighborhood, the biblical zoo and aquarium, along with the historic natural springs of Ein Laban and Ein Haniyeh.