BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 10. One of the most important road infrastructure projects implemented in accordance with the instructions of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is the Toghanali-Kalbajar-Istisu highway, with a length of 82 kilometers on the territory of the Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions of the country, Trend reports.
The proposal states that of the highway's overall length connecting the districts of Goygol and Kalbajar, 56 kilometers are in the Toghanali-Kalbajar part and 26 kilometers are in the Kalbajar-Istisu segment. The Toghanali-Kalbajar highway's 16-kilometer segment marks the beginning of the Murovdag ridge, which ascends to the peak of Murovdag (3,250 meters).
The Murovdag tunnel, one of the longest road tunnels in the world, is still being built at this section. Two 12-meter-wide traffic lanes in one direction will be present in the tunnel. In addition, work is currently being done on three tunnels that will have lengths of 561.2 meters, 605.1 meters, and 888 meters.
In accordance with the instruction of the president of Azerbaijan, the Toghanali-Kalbajar-Istisu highway with 2, 3, and 4 lanes is being built in accordance with I, II, and III technical categories.
Thus, taking into account the fact that the territory has a complex mountainous and rocky terrain, the main part of the road should be built in accordance with the II technical category, that is, the roadway should be 2-lane, and on ascents, with an additional lane.
In the part where the Murovdag tunnel passes, it is planned to build four traffic lanes corresponding to the I technical category.
The total length of the road in the I technical category according to the project is 14.2 kilometers, the total length of the road in the II technical category is 34.8 kilometers, and the III category is 33 kilometers.
The project also provides for the construction of six road interchanges with a total length of 2,968 meters and 36 connecting roads with a total length of 5,600 meters.
Work is now being done in the Toghanali-Kalbajar portion, including clearing the area, removing vegetation, drilling, backfilling, and building artificial structures. 56 percent of the drilling and bulk operations were finished.
Work on clearing the land, removing vegetation, drilling and backfilling, and erecting man-made buildings is still ongoing on various stretches of the Kalbajar-Istisu route.