Cankurtaran Tunnel

The Cankurtaran Tunnel (Turkish: Cankurtaran Tüneli), a.k.a. Hopa Cankurtaran Tunnel, is a road tunnel located in Artvin Province as part of the Hopa-Borçka Highway D.010 in northeastern Turkey.

Cankurtaran Tunnel
Cankurtaran Tüneli

Overview
Location	Çavuşlu, Hopa - Çifteköprü, Borçka in Artvin Province, Turkey
Coordinates	41°23′00″N 41°32′16″E
Status	Operational
Route	D.010
Operation
Work begun	29 October 2010
Opened	1 March 2018 (2018-03-01)
Owner	General Directorate of Highways
Traffic	automotive
Character	Twin-tube highway tunnel
Technical
Length	5,228 m (17,152 ft)
No. of lanes	2 x 2

Cankurtaran Tunnel

Location of Cankurtaran Tunnel in Turkey

Situated on the Mount Cankurtaran of Pontic Mountains between Çavuşlu village of Hopa district in the west and Çifteköprü village of Borçka district in the east, it is a 5,228 m (17,152 ft)-long twin-tube tunnel carrying two lanes of traffic in each direction.[1][2][3] The cost of the construction is estimated to be ₺100 million.[4]

It was built to bypass the Cankurtaran Pass at 690 m (2,260 ft) elevation with many hairpin turns,[3] and to alleviate Black Sea Region's access to Eastern Anatolia Region and consequently to Middle Eastern countries. The tunnel will also eliminate the traffic burden that emerges from climatic conditions such as heavy snow fall, icing and fog. It will shorten the route about 12 km (7.5 mi).[4][5]

The groundbreaking ceremony took place in presence of Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication Binali Yıldırım on 29 October 2010, the Republic Day.[3][4][5][6] The breakthrough was achieved in presence of Minister of Customs and Trade Hayati Yazıcı on 16 March 2014.[1][3]

The tunnel was opened to traffic on 1 March 2018 by Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication Ahmet Arslan.[7]

References

1. Gül, Tolga & Ziya Akyıldız (2014-03-16). "Hopa Cankurtaran Tüneli'nde ışık göründü". Ihlas News Agency (in Turkish). Retrieved 2014-04-18.
2. "Türkiye'nin en uzun tüneli Hopa-Cankurtaran". Bugün (in Turkish). 2013-07-26. Archived from the original on 2014-04-19. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
3. "Türkiye'nin en uzun tünelinde 'ışık göründü'". TGRT Haber (in Turkish). 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
4. "Cankurtaran Tüneli Artvin'in yarım asırlık hasretini bitirdi". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). 2010-10-31. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
5. "Hopa-Borçka Yolu Cankurtaran Tüneli Temel Atma Töreni" (in Turkish). Artvin Valiliği. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
6. "Bir Hayal Gerçek Oldu - Cankurtaran Tüneli Temel Atma Töreni" (in Turkish). Arhavi Belediyesi. 2010-10-30. Archived from the original on 2014-04-19. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
7. "Cankurtaran Tüneli ulaşıma açıldı". TRT Haber (in Turkish). 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2018-05-01.