Anyone who has attended performances at the Shuni Amphitheater or hiked in the Taninim Stream Nature Reserve is well aware of the challenge: A narrow, congested junction that, on rainy winter days, is sometimes flooded by stream water. Now, good news for the hundreds of thousands of visitors: The Drive Group has recently launched an extensive infrastructure project that will make traveling to the area safer and more convenient.
The project, led and initiated by Netivei Israel alongside the Geokom company, recently commenced on Road 652 within the boundaries of the Jabotinsky Park, between Binyamina and Zichron Ya’acov. The works aim to improve water drainage from the Taninim Stream, which flows beneath the road, and to widen the junction at the entrance to the Shuni Amphitheater – steps that will significantly enhance safety and accessibility in this area that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.
Significant Improvement in Drainage and Safety
The project works are led by the Drive Group – Israel’s leading transportation infrastructure group, which includes several well-known infrastructure companies. The work, coordinated by Derech Betucha (a company within the Drive Group), is expected to last about nine months and conclude by February 2026.
As part of the project, the drainage channel of the Taninim Stream will be upgraded, and two new culverts – structures through which stream water flows – will be added beneath Road 652, in addition to the existing old culvert at the site. This upgrade is designed to prevent the road from flooding during rainy days and to maintain passenger safety.
In addition, the access junction to the Shuni Amphitheater and the historic Binyamina quarry will be reorganized by expanding the lanes at the junction, and new lighting poles will be installed in the area – improvements that will ease access to the popular performance venue and enhance driving safety during nighttime hours.
Yoav Rizel, CEO of the Drive Group, stated: “We are proud to take part in this important transportation infrastructure project to regulate the entrance junction to the Shuni Amphitheater and to expand the water channel in the Taninim Stream. The infrastructure upgrade at the site will lead to a significant improvement in traffic flow and the safety of hundreds of thousands of travelers in the area each year.”
Rizel added that “as part of the Drive Group, the project is being led by the companies Derech Betucha and A.A.K.I., in close cooperation with the Binyamina-Givat Ada local council, KKL-JNF, the Nature and Parks Authority, the Antiquities Authority, and the Carmel Drainage and River Authority.”