Politics · Turkey · 2 hrs ago
Dallıkavak Tunnel on Turkey’s Erzurum-Rize road set to open
Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu says the Dallıkavak Tunnel and 9 kilometres of road will open on October 31 on the route between Erzurum and Rize.
The 3,105-metre twin-bore tunnel is part of a north-south link connecting eastern Turkey with the Black Sea region.
It will replace a high mountain route with eight sharp bends, which can be difficult to use in snow, storms and ice.
The new route will be 4.6 kilometres shorter and cut this journey from 20 minutes to five.
Officials estimate it will save 103.7 million lira a year in time and fuel costs and reduce annual carbon emissions by 1,334 tonnes.
Work continues on another 21.3 kilometres, and the full Erzurum-Rize route is expected to shrink from 248 to 196 kilometres when all planned work is complete.
Turkey’s Dallıkavak Tunnel and a total of 9 kilometres of road on the Erzurum-Rize route are scheduled to open on 31 October.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said the 3,105-metre tunnel is designed to make travel safer and more reliable, especially in winter.
The tunnel is expected to shorten the route by 4.6 kilometres and cut travel time on the section from 20 minutes to five minutes.
It will bypass a steep section with eight sharp bends and provide a crossing 190 metres lower than the existing route.
Work is continuing on another 21.3 kilometres of the project.
- Who
- Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced the opening.
- What
- The Dallıkavak Tunnel and a total of 9 kilometres of road are scheduled to open.
- When
- 31 October 2026.
- Where
- On the Erzurum-Rize road in Turkey.
- Why
- To improve safety and reliability, particularly in winter, and shorten the route and travel time.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that the tunnel and a total of 9 kilometres of road would open the following day.
The Dallıkavak Tunnel and the 9-kilometre section are scheduled to open.
- Tunnel length
- 3,105 metres, with two tubes
- Road section opening
- 9 kilometres
- Route shortened
- 4.6 kilometres
- Travel time
- Reduced from 20 minutes to five minutes
- Existing pass elevation
- 2,349 metres
- Further work
- Continuing on 21.3 kilometres of the route
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What people are saying
We will shorten the existing route by 4.6 kilometres and reduce travel time from 20 minutes to five minutes.
We will provide our citizens with safer, more comfortable and uninterrupted transport.