Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, in his speech at the Çamlıhemşin Tunnel Light Seeing Ceremony, which was built within the scope of the Ardeşen-Çamlıhemşin-Ayder Provincial Road, said, “Our road starts from the Pazar-Ardeşen junction of the Black Sea Coastal Road and passes through Çamlıhemşin and integrates with the Ayder Renewal and Protection Project. The length of our project reaches 960 kilometers with the 2-meter Çamlıhemşin Tunnel, the 252-meter Hala Tunnel, 215 bridges with a total length of 4 meters, 3 junctions and our 3-kilometer connection road. When our road is completed, we will shorten the current road by 39,5 kilometers and travel time by 2 minutes.”
Uraloğlu made statements at the Çamlıhemşin Tunnel Light Seeing Ceremony, which was built within the scope of the Ardeşen-Çamlıhemşin-Ayder Provincial Road. Reminding that they held the groundbreaking ceremony of the tunnel with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last year, Minister Uraloğlu said, “Our 36,5-kilometer-long project starts from the Pazar-Ardeşen junction of the Black Sea Coastal Road, passes through the Çamlıhemşin district center, and ends in Ayder location, integrated with the Ayder Renewal and Protection Project.”
“The Total Length of Our Project Reaches 39,5 Kilometers”
Minister Uraloğlu stated that they took a new approach to the project and built it with hot bitumen mixture coating, and said, “Our project includes the 960-meter Çamlıhemşin Tunnel, the 2-meter Hala Tunnel, 252 bridges with a total length of 215 meters and 4 junctions. In addition, we also have a 3-kilometer connection road that separates from the Tunca Junction approximately at the fifth kilometer of the road and connects to Tunca Town. Thus, the total length of our project actually reaches 3 kilometers.”
“We Expanded the Boundaries of Our Civilization by Drilling Tunnels Through Mountains”
Drawing attention to the difficult geographical conditions of the Eastern Black Sea Region, Minister Uraloğlu said, “This region is a region that receives excessive rainfall and has a steep topographic structure, so there is a risk of rockfalls, floods and landslides in various parts. However, we never gave up in the face of these obstacles. By piercing mountains with tunnels and crossing deep valleys with bridges, we realized the projects our people needed and expanded the boundaries of our civilization. Today, we are experiencing another example of this determination and determination by completing the excavation work in the 960-meter Çamlıhemşin Tunnel and reaching the stage of seeing the light. In order to ensure the safe flow of traffic along the road from Ardeşen Junction to Ayder Yaylası, we are passing the Çamlıhemşin district crossing, which increases especially in the summer months, with the Çamlıhemşin Tunnel. Immediately following this tunnel, we will also put into practice the 2-meter Hala Tunnel in order to protect the unique nature of Çamlıhemşin.”
“We Will Protect Rize’s Unique Nature by Reducing Carbon Emission by 5 Tons”
Uraloğlu, who stated that the Ardeşen-Çamlıhemşin-Ayder Provincial Road has great importance in terms of providing transportation to the world-famous Ayder Plateau, which has recently served both winter tourism and plateau tourism in the Black Sea Region and hosts more than a million visitors every year, and shapes the cultural and economic texture of the region, said, “With our project, we are easing the increasing traffic density on the current road and establishing faster, safer and more comfortable transportation on the route. When our road is completed, we will shorten the current road by 2 kilometers and the travel time by 20 minutes. Thus, we will save 180 million liras in time and 115 million liras in fuel, totaling 295 million liras annually. In addition, we will contribute to the protection of Rize’s unique nature by reducing the carbon emission of vehicles that harm the environment by 5 tons.”
“It will contribute to the economy of the region by increasing tourism diversity”
Stating that they will increase the trade and tourism potential in the entire region with the project that will provide ease of transportation from the Black Sea coast to the inland areas, he said, “It will be an important turning point for the entire regional tourism, especially for Ayder Plateau. The traffic density that spreads almost all year long will decrease significantly thanks to this road, and it will provide tourists and our fellow citizens of Rize with a more comfortable travel opportunity. The opportunity to reach in a shorter time, with comfort and safety will allow tourists to spend more time in the region. It will contribute to the economy of the region by increasing tourism diversity. It will also increase new employment opportunities by leading to the increase in investments made in the region and the opening of new tourism facilities.”
“29 kilometers of our highway network consists of divided highways.”
Uraloğlu, who reminded us of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s words, “Road means civilization; it means industry, production, tourism, trade, security, development and integration with the world,” emphasized that they have equipped Turkey with a high-standard road network from one end to the other, from east to west and north to south, in the last 22 years. Uraloğlu said, “Today, 68 kilometers of our total 494-kilometer highway network consists of divided roads and 29 of our 590 provinces are connected to each other by divided roads. In regions with high mountains and deep valleys such as the Eastern Black Sea Region, we have provided road users with a much safer and more comfortable travel opportunity with high-tech structures such as bridges and tunnels that defy nature.”
“Thanks to our structures, we provide a total economic benefit of 197 billion 492 million liras annually”
Minister Uraloğlu stated that only 2002 kilometers of tunnels were built in Turkey in the 80-year period until 50, and said, “With the opening of 22 kilometers of tunnels in the last 715 years and the increase of this length to 765 kilometers, the magnitude of the great work accomplished will be better understood. Similarly, our total bridge length, which was 311 kilometers, has reached 788 kilometers. Thanks to these structures, we provide approximately 113 billion 870 million liras of labor savings from the reduction in travel time, and approximately 83 billion 622 million liras from fuel, for a total annual economic benefit of 197 billion 492 million liras.”
135,9 Million Lira Investment Made in Rize
Rize is among the important centers of the Eastern Black Sea Region with its location on the Caucasus Corridor opening to Europe and Central Asia and its location providing access to the markets of the Eastern Bloc countries, he said, “With the completion of the rapidly growing and developing Organized Industrial Zone and the İyidere Logistics Port, which is currently under construction, it will become an important logistics base in the Black Sea Region. For this reason, we are striving to meet the transportation needs that have emerged due to the increasing potential of Rize and to establish an advanced transportation and communication infrastructure. In this context, we have spent 22 billion 135 million liras for transportation and communication infrastructure investments in Rize in the last 935 years. Until 2002, there were only 12,2 kilometers of divided roads, we built 175,1 kilometers more and reached a total of 187,3 kilometers. Only 12.2 kilometers of the roads were covered with BSK, we increased it to 376 kilometers.”
“Rize Will Be a Logistics Base that Will Connect Turkey to the World”
Minister Uraloğlu stated that they have completed very important projects such as the Black Sea Coastal Road, Ovit Tunnel, İkizdere City Crossing, Hurmalık-1 and Hurmalık-2 Tunnels and the Salarha Tunnel, which the people of Rize have been dreaming of for 70 years, and continued his words as follows:
“We continue with 16 highway projects such as İyidere-İkizdere, Kendirli, Isırlık, Güneysu Başköy Roads and Ardeşen-Çamlıhemşin-Ayder Provincial Road, where we come together. I think that the İyidere Logistics Port, which is under construction, is a seal on the future of Rize. This port of ours has strategic importance with its location on the Caucasus Corridor, which opens to the Eastern Black Sea Region, Europe and Central Asia. It will be the transfer center of the combined transportation chain that will arise from the potential traffic between the Caucasian countries and the Middle Eastern countries. Thanks to its developing transportation networks, Rize will not only maintain its place at the top as the capital of tea, but will also be a center that will connect Turkey to the world as an international logistics base.”
