Israel National Roads Company has selected Ashtrom Group to design and construct the southbound section of Road 20, the Ayalon freeway, in the city of Herzliya at a total cost of NIS750m ($190m).

As a part of Road 531, the Ayalon freeway will be constructed between Road 6, the Yitzhak Rabin Highway at Kfar Saba in the east to Road 4 Geha, and Road 2, the Coastal Highway by Kibbutz Rishon in the west.

The Ayalon freeway is aimed to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion at the northern entrances that lead to Tel Aviv, and also create a road and rail network to connect Herzliya, Kfar Shmaryahu, Ra’anana and Kfar Saba with Tel Aviv.

Ashtrom, under the contract, will build Seven Stars interchange, Maapilim interchange that will connect Herzliya Pituah and Kfar Shmaryahu with the infrastructures of Road 531, and construct the Shmaryahu East Interchange.

Vered Quarries will provide logistics and all the material required for the construction of the project.

Ashtrom Construction CEO Shay Etrogi was quoted by Globes as saying that the contract follows the business expansion by the Ashtrom group in public and residential construction in Israel.

"This large and complex project will express the company’s synergies and range of high skills," Etrogi added.

Ashtrom Group will expand the Herzliya train station, shifting the railway line along the Coastal Highway that will run along the Ayalon highway, as well as build a railway interchange and construct connections for the bus rapid transport system of Herzliya.