The 3,105-meter Dallıkavak Tunnel on the Erzurum-Rize Road will be put into service on October 16.

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu gave information about the latest situation in the Dallıkavak Tunnel and Connection Roads Project, built on the Erzurum-Rize Road.

Stating that Erzurum is in a strategic location connecting the Eastern Anatolia Region to the Black Sea ports, border gates and logistics centers, Uraloğlu stated that they continue their work to strengthen the transportation infrastructure of the region.

Uraloğlu pointed out that they will prevent transportation disruptions due to snowfall, blizzard and icing, especially in winter months, with the Dallıkavak Tunnel they built on the north-south axis connecting Erzurum to Rize, and said, "We will offer safer, more comfortable and uninterrupted transportation to our citizens. With the tunnel in question, we are opening a total of 9 kilometers of it on Friday, October 16." made his assessment.

Emphasizing that in addition to the tunnel, the work has been completed on the 5.9 kilometer section of the connection roads, Uraloğlu stated that they will put into service a total of 9 kilometers, including the 3 thousand 105 meter long double-tube Dallıkavak Tunnel, and that the work continues on the 21.3 kilometer section.

"8 sharp bends will be disabled"

Uraloğlu pointed out that they increased the physical and geometric standards of the existing road with the Dallıkavak Tunnel and stated that they provided a new passage at a lower elevation instead of the existing route containing the Dallıkavak Pass with an altitude of 2 thousand 349 meters.

Uraloğlu informed that they moved the route to a 190 meters lower level by deactivating the existing road section with high slopes and 8 sharp bends, and underlined that it will significantly reduce the transportation difficulties faced by drivers, especially in severe winter conditions.

Referring to the economic and environmental gains that the project will provide, Uraloğlu said, "With the Dallıkavak Tunnel, we will shorten the current route by 4.6 kilometers, reducing the travel time from 20 minutes to 5 minutes. We will save a total of 103.7 million lira, including 76.7 million lira from time and 27 million lira from fuel. We will also reduce carbon emissions by 1334 tons annually." he said.

"We are strengthening the transportation axis"

Emphasizing that Dallıkavak Tunnel constitutes one of the important parts of the Erzurum-Rize route, together with the Ovit Tunnel, which was put into service in 2018, and the Kırık Tunnel, which is under construction, Uraloğlu said:

"With the work we carry out on the entire Erzurum-Rize Road, we are strengthening the transportation axis connecting the Black Sea to Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia. We will shorten the route, which is currently 248 kilometers, by 52 kilometers to 196 kilometers upon completion of all our work. We will provide uninterrupted divided road comfort on the north-south axis extending from the Rize section of the Black Sea Coastal Road to Erzurum, Bingöl and Diyarbakır."