By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

The construction of the Toganali-Kalbajar-Istisu road and the Murovdag tunnel is underway, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijan State Agency for Automobile Roads.

The 82-km highway is one of the important road infrastructure projects implemented in the territory of Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur economic regions.

The road connecting Goygol and Kalbajar districts is 56 km long in the Toganali-Kalbajar segment and 26 km long in the Kalbajar-Istisu section. The Murovdag range starts from the 16th km section of the Toganali-Kalbajar project, and the height ranges from 1,900 m to 3,250 m at the peak of Murovdag.

In this section, the construction of the Murovdag tunnel, which will be one of the longest automobile tunnels in the world, is underway. The tunnel will have two traffic lanes in one direction and will be 12 meters wide. Moreover, the construction of three tunnels with lengths of 561.2 m, 605.1 m, and 888 m is under construction. Drilling and blasting activities on the 11.6-km Murovdag tunnel (Tunnel No. 3) in the left direction, as well as 2,818 meters in the right direction, were completed.

The excavation, concrete spraying operations, and belt concrete activities have been completed in Tunnel No. 1 (561.2m). Drilling and concrete spraying work in Tunnel No. 2 (605.1m) has been completed in a 511-m section. The highway is being built in line with the 1st and 2nd technical grades with 2-4 traffic lanes.

Given the project area's hard hilly and rocky terrain, the major part of the road will be built to the 2nd technical grade, which means that the road section will have two lanes with an additional lane on the slopes. It is planned to construct four traffic lanes of the first technical grade in portions with tunnels and bridges.

Along the Toganali-Kalbajar road, the cleaning of the area, the preparation of the foundation for the soil bed, the shaping of the slopes in the excavations, and the work on 43 rectangular and circular pipes have been completed in the sections of 6.0-13.5 and 25.0-33.4 km, and the construction is underway on 16 rectangular and circular pipes.

In the Kalbajar-Istisu (26 km) part of the project, the site cleaning and excavation activities have already started in parts.

Currently, the project research, geology, and soil activities are being carried out in certain parts of the project. Thus, under the construction norms and standards, the materials for the foundation have been provided, the foundation has been brought to the required shape with a heavy roller, and the earth tubs have been laid to protect the soil bed from surface water. With the use of special techniques, road widening and profiling and construction of a new soil bed with a width of 15-21.5 meters are being carried out.

In order to ensure water transfer along the road in the newly built Toganali-Kalbajar project (56 km), the installation of 129 circular pipes with a total length of 2,960 meters, 72 rectangular and U-shape culverts with a total length of 5,760 meters, as well as the construction of six new automobile bridges (171 m) will be implemented in the required areas.

The 26-km Kalbajar-Istisu highway is being constructed in line with the 2nd technical grade. The construction of 63 circular pipes with a total length of 980 meters, 18 rectangular ones with a length of 358 meters, and three (165 m) new automobile bridges will be carried out in the project to ensure the transfer of water along the road.

The construction activities on the project are being carried out in line with the Construction Norms and Rules under the supervision of the State Agency. The agency has drawn the required number of manpower to the area to complete the project by 2025.

The Toganal?-Kalbajar-Istisu highway starts from Goygol District’s Toganali village and passes through the territory of Kalbajar District, which was liberated from occupation. The highway will provide quick access to the district center and the famed Istisu region, as well as several residential districts.