Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that they have made 2 meters of progress in the Hakkari-Yüksekova Road Yeniköprü T216 tunnel. Minister Uraloğlu said, “We will shorten the route by 7 kilometers and reduce the travel time from 35 minutes to 10 minutes. We will save 193,3 million liras annually.” Uraloğlu also stated that they will hold the official opening of the T1 Tunnel soon and that they aim to complete the work on the T2 Tunnel in 2027.
Uraloğlu examined the Yeniköprü Tunnels on the Yeniköprü-Yüksekova Road, which is currently under construction in Hakkari. Minister Uraloğlu made a statement here, saying, “In 2002, when our total vehicle count was approximately 8.5 million and our divided road length was 6 kilometers, our average travel time was 101 kilometers per hour. Today, although our vehicle count has reached 40 million, our average travel speed has increased to 30.5 kilometers. We achieved this by increasing the length of our divided road to 90 kilometers. We crossed mountains that were said to be impassable with the comfort of tunnels. We connected continents separated by seas with bridges and tunnels.”
77 provinces connected by divided roads
Minister Uraloğlu reminded that only 6 provinces were connected to each other with divided roads and said, “We connected 77 provinces with divided roads. We increased the total bridge length, which was 2002 kilometers in 311, to 790 kilometers. We increased our tunnel length, which was 50 kilometers, to 767 kilometers within the scope of tunnel construction works. With these breakthroughs in highways, we established road networks at international standards and connected the north to the south and the east to the west.”
Hakkari, the Rising Star of the Region
Uraloğlu stated that they continue to strengthen the transportation network with new works such as Yeniköprü Yüksekova Road and Yüksekova Ring Road, and said, “Hakkari is one of the rising stars in the region with its underground resources, thousands of years of history, cultural assets and border gates. In order for the development of this potential that Hakkari has to be systematic and sustainable, the development of the transportation network is a must.”
22 Billion Lira Investment in 46 Years
Uraloğlu, who also stated that they have made 22 billion liras of investment for the development of Hakkari’s transportation and communication infrastructure in the last 46 years as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, said, “We increased the length of divided roads from one kilometer to 102 kilometers. There were no BSK paved roads, we made 167 kilometers of BSK paved roads and introduced comfort to our citizens of Hakkari on the roads. There were 700 bridges with a length of 22 meters, we increased this to 3,2 bridges with a length of 50 kilometers. There were 600 tunnels with a length of 4 meters, we increased it to 2,8 tunnels with a length of 9 kilometers. As you can see, we continue with new projects.”
Yeniköprü-Yüksekova Road is 16,2 Kilometers Long
Minister Uraloğlu stated that they designed the Yeniköprü-Yüksekova Road, which started construction in 2017, as a 16,2-kilometer long and the Yüksekova Peripheral Road as a 7,3-kilometer long bituminous hot mixture coated divided road standard. Uraloğlu said, “With our project with a total length of 23,5 kilometers; we will turn the existing 12-meter state road into a divided road with 2 incoming and 2 outgoing lanes; we will ensure that our road is passed in a high standard with the comfort of a divided road and a tunnel.”
“We Will Ensure Safety of Life and Property on the Route”
Uraloğlu, who noted that they will eliminate the sharp curves on the Hakkari-Yüksekova Road and the road section with a high risk of flood damage, said, “We will also eliminate problems such as falling rocks from slopes with high landslide potential. Thus, we will establish life and property safety on the route.”
“We Will Save a Total of 193,3 Million Liras Annually”
Minister Uraloğlu also explained that they will improve the geometry of the current route and said, “We will shorten the 33-kilometer route by 7 kilometers and reduce the travel time from 40 minutes to 15 minutes. Thus, when our entire project is completed, we will save 141,1 million liras in time and 52,2 million liras in fuel, totaling 193,3 million liras per year. We will also contribute to the protection of nature by reducing the carbon emission of vehicles that harm the environment by 3 tons.”
Uraloğlu, who also stated that they have completed 2.1 kilometers of the Yüksekova Ring Road at the level of the wearing course, said, “We will make the entire road covered with hot bitumen mixture. On the Yeniköprü-Yüksekova Road; we have completed the 151-meter Çığlı Bridge at the wearing course level, the 282-meter Dilektaşı-1 Bridge and the 227-meter Dilektaşı-2 Bridge at the level of the concrete floor, and the Başkale-Hakkari Junction at the wearing course level.”
Target for T2 Tunnel is 2027
Recalling that the excavation work in the T1 tunnel was completed last year and light was seen, Uraloğlu made the following statements:
“Since that day, we have completed our 3-meter tunnel at the double-tube wear level. In other words, we have completed most of the work in the T965 tunnel, and hopefully we will hold its official opening soon. We started the excavation and support works in the T-1 Tunnel on December 2, 9, and we have made a total of 2023 meters of progress in both tubes. We aim to complete the work in this tunnel in 216.”
