32 Curves on Van-Hakkari Road Have Become a History

The Güzeldere Tunnel, which will ensure the safe and comfortable flow of traffic between Van and Hakkari provinces, was opened to traffic with a ceremony attended by Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu and General Director of Highways Ahmet Gülşen.

Minister Uraloğlu, emphasizing that the state road between Van and Hakkari is of great importance in terms of international trade activities as it provides access to border gates opening to Iran and Iraq such as Esendere, Umurlu and Üzümlü, said, “At this point, as the Ministry, we have designed and implemented the 61-kilometer section of the road between Güzelsu and Başkale in the bituminous hot mixture coated divided road standard in order to strengthen the transportation network in the region.”

The other tube of the tunnel will be completed in 2025

Expressing that they are happy to complete the 38-kilometer section of the road and to open the double-tube Güzeldere Tunnel in the Van-Hakkari direction, Uraloğlu added that they will complete the other tube of the tunnel in mid-2025.

“We have eliminated the 32 corners that are drivers’ nightmares”

Uraloğlu stated that they bypassed the road section where snow removal is intense in the winter months and transportation is difficult and brought it to a high standard, and said, “We have now eliminated the 32 bends that are the nightmare of drivers due to difficult weather conditions such as avalanches, snow, blizzard and icing that threaten road safety.”

“We reduced the transportation time from 40 minutes to 6 minutes”

Stating that they have reduced the road level by 230 meters with the tunnel and reduced the transportation time from 40 minutes to 6 minutes, our Minister said, “Thus, thanks to our project, we will save 72,2 million liras in time and 73,5 million liras in fuel, totaling 145,7 million liras annually. We will also contribute to the protection of Güzeldere pass and the unique nature of Van by reducing the carbon emission of vehicles that harm the environment by 4.549 tons.”

Trade will be revived, tourism will develop

Uraloğlu stated that the harsh conditions of winter will no longer negatively affect the daily lives of the local people, drivers using the road and drivers working in the transportation sector, and that border trade in the region will be further revived and tourism activities will develop.

High standard transportation to the campuses in the region via Van Ring Road

Uraloğlu, who stated that they will conduct inspections on the Van Ring Road, which is under construction in Van, during the day, made the following statements: “We designed this road, which starts from Edremit, passes east of Van city center and connects to Erciş Road, as a 41-kilometer-long, bituminous hot mixed coated, 3-lane divided road standard with 3 departures and 6 arrivals. When we complete our project and put it into service, we will relieve the traffic congestion in the city center and establish high-standard transportation opportunities from the city to the settlements in the region. We will provide transportation to the Gürbulak, Kapıköy, Esendere, Umurlu and Üzümlü border gates of the provinces in the region with the comfort of a divided road. When our Van Ring Road is completed, we will save 1,4 billion liras in time and 200 million liras in fuel, totaling 1,6 billion liras annually. We will also contribute to the protection of nature by reducing the carbon emission of vehicles that harm the environment by 15 thousand tons.”

“We are establishing a safer and uninterrupted flow of traffic”

Speaking at the ceremony, General Manager Ahmet Gülşen stated that Güzeldere Tunnel was designed as a 3-meter-long double-tube project with hot bitumen mixture coating in accordance with the divided road standard, and said, “We are putting the right tube, which we completed in the first phase, into use today to serve traffic in both directions, and establishing a safer and uninterrupted flow of traffic in the region where the winter season begins. Thus, the famous 150 bends that have provided transportation between the two provinces for decades are becoming history.”

Underlining that they, as the General Directorate of Highways, are increasing their investments in tunnels and divided roads every day, Gülşen said that they connect cities and regions to each other and our country to the world quickly, safely and comfortably.