Dr. Binyamin Ilan, a civil engineer and lecturer at Bar Ilan University, has written the third paper in the series of Research Papers in Land Economics. Dr. Ilan's previous paper, "Road Infrastructure in Israel and Economic Efficiency," Policy Studies No. 13 (September 1992), described the deplorable state of Israel's road infrastructure and documented the economic benefits of building new roads and maintaining existing roads. In this current study, Dr. Ilan identifies the specific problems that have plagued planning and building highways in israel, and indicates the required reforms to resolve the problems.

The paper describes two examples - the Acre Bypass and the Trans-Israel Highway - of delays exceeding 20 years that highlight the failure of road planning and development in Israel. This failure is not supposed to happen, and is therefore a contradiction, because planning in a socialist economy is supposed to be the hallmark of economic management. In its central task of planning, Israel's leaders have been dismal failures.

Israel's research discloses the following problems:

* Fragmentation and conflicts of interest among several planning agencies - a complete lack of coordination and rampant turf protection in each separate domain of activity
* Excessively lengthy approval procedures every step of the way
* Inadequate, minimalist planning
* Delays in performance for lack of available plans after approvals have been received
* Substandard performance in construction because the Public Works Department does not prepare timely development plans to accommodate changing patterns of settlement and traffic
* Delays due to blunders in land expropriation along rights-of-way

Ilan recommends that the government establish a cabinet-level task force that has the authority to coordinate all of the organizational, legislative, procedural, and budgetary aspects of road construction. He then recommends that greater emphasis be placed on market forces. Ilan notes that it is paradoxical that heavy taxation of cars and fuel in Israel accompanies the socialist concept of free road use. The correct policy is to transfer major road construction to private enterprise, which would permit a reduction in car and fuel taxes to the benefit of motorists. The harmful effects of high taxes on motorists was documented in Yossi Laster, "Private Transport in Israel: Proposal for Tax Reform," Policy Studies No. 21 (January 1995). Finally, Ilan shows that the government continues to neglect the renovation and modernization of Israel's road infrastructure even as it finds money to grant a large pay raise to government employees and bail out failing socialist enterprises.