Bnei Brak Power Lines Could Finally Move Underground After Decades of Promises

After 17 years of promises to remove high-voltage lines from the eastern edge of Bnei Brak, a new and far more ambitious plan is now moving forward. The lines that run near neighborhoods such as Ramat Elhanan, Neve Ahiezer and Ganei Gad were supposed to be moved away from homes in 2009, when the city engineering department reached a compromise with Israel Electric Corporation that was later approved by the regional appeals committee.

That earlier plan never materialized, and the massive poles remained in place, continuing to dominate the eastern part of the city. The new plan, called TATL 110, marks a major change in approach. Instead of simply shifting overhead wires, it calls for the entire high-voltage network to be buried in a protected underground infrastructure tunnel.

If implemented, the project would remove the transmission towers from the skyline, significantly reduce exposure to electromagnetic fields near residential buildings, and open the way for broader urban and infrastructure development along the corridor. But the schedule remains long and uncertain. Officials say the project requires unusually complex coordination among dozens of bodies, including Israel Electric Corporation, Netivei Israel, Mekorot and the Bnei Brak municipality, beneath one of the country’s busiest and most crowded transport arteries.

According to industry estimates, approval of the plan alone is expected to take at least until the end of 2028, and the construction work would then take several more years. The Planning Administration said the line is very old and that TATL 110 for Highway 4 currently includes an infrastructure tunnel, into which the line is expected to be moved together with other utilities.