City Promises Road Closure Will End In Time For Next Road Closure

 “This year we succeeded in coordinating all route blockages so that all of them can take place as planned, and none are omitted.”

Jerusalem, March 8 – Municipal officials vowed today that the sections of streets blocked off for special events taking place tomorrow and for infrastructure work over the next several weeks will be completed by the time a new cause to close those portions of urban thoroughfare will come along.

Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Omes Tnua told reporters at City Hall this morning that the traffic-disrupting closure of two major intersections near the main city entrance, coupled with Friday’s partial shutdown of other main arteries for the annual Jerusalem Marathon, will be cleared with enough time to spare that there will be no disruption to other closures planned for the coming weeks.

“We have a busy spring and summer planned for road blockages in Jerusalem,” explained Tnua. “The departments and committees charged with administration of roadblocks, construction, and traffic disruption spent most of the winter planning the closure schedule to minimize interference of one group of closures with any other.”

“Thus,” he continued, “while this week we closed off two major intersections for the next two weeks, with intermittent closures of the same places in the months ahead, the separate closure of the routes passing through those intersections will be able to proceed as scheduled in May, June, and July.”

“Similarly,” added Tnua, “the marathon on Friday will necessitate the closure of many principal thoroughfares in some of the most heavily-trafficked portions of the city, a major undertaking that under other circumstances, and in previous years, has led to tension with existing closures that the marathon closures may have overridden. I am happy to report that this year, we succeeded in the interdepartmental challenge of coordinating all route blockages so that all of them can take place as planned, and none are omitted.”

Observers noted that several times over the last decade, work crews charged with closing off portions of important routes in the city arrived at the assigned locations only to discover that other crews had already implemented the closure. “That could be in violation of union rules,” remarked Histadrut labor union representative Sahta Noot. “I am happy the municipality has found a way to accommodate all the municipal employees who wish to close intersections, lanes, roads, and other public access areas. the conflicts shouldn’t have happened in the first place, but at least for the foreseeable future it’s more or less guaranteed that there are enough days in the year for everyone to have a turn inconveniencing the public.”

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