BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 21. The Toghanali-Kalbajar-Istisu highway with a length of 82 kilometers is among the important road infrastructure projects implemented in the Karabakh and East Zangazur Economic Regions under the instruction of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports.
According to the project, out of the total length of the highway, linking Goygol and Kalbajar districts, 56 kilometers fall on the Toghanali-Kalbajar section, 26 kilometers – to the Kalbajar-Istisu section. The Murovdag ridge starts from the 16-kilometer section of the Toghanali-Kalbajar and reaches the top of Murovdag (3250 meters).
In this part, the construction of the Murovdag tunnel, which is to rank among the world's longest road tunnels, continues. The tunnel will have two traffic lanes 12 meters wide in one direction. Moreover, the construction of three tunnels with lengths of 561.2 meters, 605.1 meters, and 888 meters is currently underway.
A total of 2,673 meters' drilling work has been carried out in the left direction, while 2,818 meters' drilling was implemented in the right direction of the Murovdag tunnel (tunnel No. 3).
Drilling and concrete work of 561.2 meters long has been done in tunnel No. 1, while in tunnel No. 2 of 605.1 meters long, the mentioned activities have been completed on a 511-meter section.
Toghanali-Kalbajar, Kalbajar-Istisu highways are being constructed in accordance with the first and second technical class with 2-4 traffic lanes. Thus, taking into account the mountainous terrain, the main part of the road should be built according to the second technical grade. It's scheduled to build four traffic lanes corresponding to the first technical class in the sections with tunnels and bridges.
The area at 6.0-13.5 km and 25.0-33.4 km of the Toghanali-Kalbajar road has been cleared, groundbreaking preparations are underway, 43 rectangular and round pipes have been installed, as well as work on installing 16 rectangular and round pipes is ongoing.
Land cleaning and excavation work has begun in the Kalbajar-Istisu (26 km) section of the project.
Designing, survey, and geological projects are being carried out in certain areas. Road widening and profiling of a new subgrade 15-21.5 meters wide is also underway using special equipment.
In accordance with the project, 129 round pipes with a total length of 2,960 meters, 72 rectangular and U-shaped culverts with a total length of 5,760 meters will be laid along the road, as well as the construction of six road bridges (171 m) will also be carried out in the required places.
The length of the road Kalbajar-Istisu II technical class is 26 km. The project will also include laying 63 round pipes with a total length of 980 meters, 18 rectangular pipes with a length of 358 meters, and building three road bridges of 165 meters long.
Construction activities via the project are conducted following the "Construction norms and rules" under the supervision of the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads. In order to complete the project in accordance with the schedule until 2025, the agency attracted necessary amount of equipment and labor to the ongoing work.
The Toghanali-Kalbajar-Istisu highway takes its starting point from the Toganali village of Goygol district and passes through liberated Kalbajar district.