Azerbaijan continues building Murovdag tunnel to Kalbajar

After the groundbreaking ceremony for the 11.6-kilometer Murovdag tunnel on the Toganaly-Kalbajar highway during the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva on August 16 to Kalbajar and Lachin districts, large-scale construction work began, Report informs.

The project length of the Toganaly-Kalbajar-Istisu highway connecting Goygol and Kalbajar districts is 80.7 km. At the 13.5th km, the Murovdag ridge begins, and the height increases from 1,700 m to 3,250 m to the top of Murovdag.

Here, in the winter season, in conditions of heavy snow and frost, the safe operation of the road may be impossible. Therefore, instead of constructing a 31.5 km road on a territory with difficult terrain, it was considered more expedient to build an 11.6 km long tunnel under the Murovdag ridge.

The Toganaly-Kalbajar-Istisu highway is being built in accordance with the first and second technical categories and will have 2-4 lanes.

Considering the difficult mountainous and rocky terrain, the main part of the road is planned to be built in accordance with the second technical category, i.e. the roadway will have two lanes, and an additional lane is provided on the slopes. On the sections with tunnels and bridges, in accordance with the first technical category, it is planned to organize a four-lane traffic.

The construction is carried out by the “Operation of Main Roads No. 3” LLC of the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads and the Turkish companies Kolin Insaat Turizm Sеnaye ve Ticaret and Cengiz Insaat Senaye ve Ticaret attracted as subcontractors.

At present, design and survey, geological exploration and earthworks are being carried out on certain sections of the road. Works carried out in accordance with the requirements of building codes and regulations are under the control of the agency’s management.

As many as 103 pipes with a total length of 2,575 meters will be laid to drain the water. Five road bridges with a total length of 450 meters will be built on certain sites.

The Toganaly-Kalbajar-Istisu road originates from the Toganaly village of the Goygol district and runs through the liberated Kalbajar district. Its construction will provide convenient access to many settlements and the regional center, as well as to the territory of the famous Istisu water springs.