60 annual dream Salmankas Tunnel will be opened at year's end

The 60-year dream Salmankaş Tunnel will be opened to transportation at the end of the year: The Salmankaş Tunnel, which is located on the route connecting the Eastern Black Sea to Eastern Anatolia and has been dreamed by the local people for 60 years, will be opened to transportation at the end of the year.
The works started to improve the 104-kilometer-long "Araklı-Dağbaşı Uğrak Road" starting from the borders of Trabzon's Araklı district and passing through Gümüşhane to the Uğrak town of Bayburt. As part of the works, 64 kilometers of the road from the Trabzon coast have been improved and put into service.
It is envisaged to overcome the transportation problem experienced in Salmankaş Pass between the 36th and 40th kilometers, which constitute the most critical part of the rugged and extremely inclined road. In this context, the construction of a tunnel consisting of 2 tubes of 4 thousand 30 meters each began at this location 2 years ago. In one of these tubes, the end is approached, and in the other tube, there is an intense effort to see the light. After the excavation work in the second tube is completed in Salmankaş, escape tunnels will be built between the two tubes.
After this work, which is planned to be completed this year, the safe passage of vehicles from the first tube, which is about to be concreted, will be allowed. Thus, one tube in the Salmankaş Tunnel will be opened to traffic before the end of the year, and the other tube will be tried to be opened to transportation as soon as possible.
Araklı-Dağbaşı Uğrak Yolu, which has been closed for 6 months due to heavy snow, avalanches and icing during the winter months, will breathe the drivers easily by opening this tunnel on Salmankaş Mountain and improving the entire existing road. With the project, which will shorten the route between Trabzon and Bayburt by 16 kilometers, the transportation between these two provinces lasting 2,5 to 3 hours will decrease to 1,5 hours. Thanks to the project, which includes the Salmankaş Tunnel and costs 170 million lira, the time and fuel will be saved in transportation on the route.
Drivers will breathe comfortably
Trabzon Governor Abdil Celil Öz told AA correspondent that Araklı-Dağbaşı Uğrak Yolu is one of the shortest routes connecting Trabzon and Bayburt. Stating that one of the most critical sections on this route is Salmankaş Mountain, Öz pointed out that the locals have dreamed of tunneling the region for 60 years so that the road will not be closed to traffic especially in winter. Öz stated that at the summit reaching up to 2 thousand 280 meters, heavy snow, avalanches and icing in winter reduce traffic safety, “We improved the Trabzon section of the road that was closed to traffic for months in winter. The drivers will breathe easily by raising the road standard and completing the Salmankaş Tunnel, which we intend to open a tube for transportation at the end of the year. ”
Governor Öz emphasized that a safe, high-quality and uninterrupted transportation service will be offered in the Eastern Black Sea region, which has a high tourism potential with highland and winter sports, thanks to the Black Sea Coastal Road and the road connecting the Black Sea ports to the border gates in the east. The tunnel will contribute greatly to the revival of the social and economic life of our country with the Eastern Black Sea ”.