The road leading to the new crane mount is lined with signs that warn motorists to drive cautiously.
But many people who drive along the route don’t realize that this is a dangerous place.
“When I drive past the crane and look, I can’t see the road,” said Mohammad Zeydan, a truck driver who said he didn’t want to leave his vehicle.
At least one person died in an accident last week when a crane fell onto a highway overpass, according to the Israeli Civil Administration.
It was one of several fatal accidents that occurred during the construction of the crane.
“The road is very narrow, and it’s not a safe road,” one resident told the Haaretz daily.
“It’s dangerous for people with no experience, who don’t know what they’re doing.”
Israel is currently working on a road to replace the original one that collapsed last year, and construction has been suspended since then.
The new crane will be the first to be put in place in the country since a major collapse in 2007.
A crane has been used for more than two decades, and more than 200 people have died while using it, according the Israeli Association of Crane Riders.
Israel’s Ministry of Transport said it had suspended work on the project after a study showed that it was unsafe.
But critics say the new design is far more dangerous than the original.
“There is a need for an effective and safe design, a design that can be adapted to the specific circumstances of the project,” said Amnon Bektar, an activist with the organization Caught in the Crosshairs.
“But unfortunately, the crane was designed for a specific purpose, and the project did not make any effort to make it safe.”
A crane on a construction site in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
Photo: Yasser Abed /Reuters