Minister Uraloğlu pointed to September 19: “We have made 27 meters of progress in the manufacturing of the 67-meter steel structure of the tunnel.”

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who inspected the ongoing works at the Bolu Mountain Tunnel and stated that they aim to complete the works by September 19, said, “We have made 27 meters of progress in the 67-meter steel structure manufacturing of the tunnel. We have completed the bored pile manufacturing, which has a total length of 256 meters.”

Due to the risk of landslides, the works for extending the tunnel tube by 67 meters at the Bolu Mountain Tunnel on the Anatolian Highway are continuing. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu inspected the ongoing works on site. Uraloğlu, who received information from the authorities, assembled the steel panels used for the extension of the tunnel tube together. Accompanying Minister Uraloğlu were Bolu Governor Erkan Kılıç, MP Yüksel Coşkunyürek, AK Party Provincial Chairman Suat Güner, and Provincial General Assembly Chairman Ekrem Çetinkaya. Uraloğlu stated that they aim to complete the works by September 19 and expressed that they have made 27 meters of progress in the 67-meter steel structure manufacturing.

“We aim to complete by September 19”

Stating that they plan to finish the works by September 19, Minister Uraloğlu said, “After the landslide that occurred in 2022 at the Bolu Mountain Tunnel, which connects Ankara and Istanbul via the Anatolian Highway, we decided to extend both tubes of the tunnel towards Kaynaşlı. As the first phase of the works, we opened the tube providing transportation from Istanbul to Ankara, extending it by 90 meters within 2023. For the second phase of the works, we started the extension works of the tunnel portal serving the Ankara-Istanbul direction on July 31. We aim to complete our works, which we plan to last 50 days, by September 19, and we are successfully continuing our works in accordance with our plans,” he said.

“We have made 27 meters of progress”

Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu noted the current stage of the works, saying, “Currently, as part of our project, we have completed the reinforced concrete foundation manufacturing of the tunnel portal. We have made 27 meters of progress in the 67-meter steel structure manufacturing of the tunnel. We have completed the bored pile manufacturing, which is 256 meters long. We have also completed the welding works in 3 out of the 4 expansion joints of the viaducts we plan to change and poured the concrete. We are continuing the welding works on the 4th joint. Additionally, we have renewed 2,800 meters of the 3,500-meter-long concrete highway guardrails in the median and the entire protection net, which is 19,400 square meters between the viaducts. With these works, we will provide a 67-meter extension of the tube serving the Bolu Tunnel in the direction of Istanbul. Thus, we will maximize transportation safety against potential landslides that may occur in the region,” he stated.

“We are preventing a landslide from negatively affecting transportation”

Expressing that they are preventing the risk of landslides from negatively affecting transportation, Minister Uraloğlu said, “Due to our works, we have temporarily diverted the traffic towards Istanbul on the 23-kilometer section between Abant and Kaynaşlı Junction of the Anatolian Highway to the D-100 State Road. Consequently, traffic is heavy on the Bolu Mountain section of the D-100 Highway. There is a vehicle density in the Abant Junction, Elmalık, Bolu Mountain Police House, Bakacak, Karanlıkdere, and Kaynaşlı sections. But this is a temporary inconvenience that we have to endure. As you know, unfortunately, in recent years, we have been facing rainfall well above seasonal norms due to climate change, and we are exposed to adverse effects such as floods and landslides. Climate change and the problems it causes have become a common issue for humanity. As we mentioned during the heavy rains in July last year, we will take more radical decisions to minimize potential adverse effects. After these works in the Bolu Mountain Tunnel, we will not experience any of the negative situations we faced during a potential heavy rainfall period in this section. By extending the tunnel portal towards Ankara by 90 meters and the currently ongoing tunnel portal towards Istanbul by 67 meters, we are preventing a potential landslide from negatively affecting transportation,” he said.

Heavy vehicle passage will be restricted

Minister Uraloğlu announced that heavy vehicle passage will not be allowed on Sundays, stating, “The current congestion on the D-100 road is temporary. We plan for it to finish very shortly on September 19. God willing, we will not see traffic interruptions due to such reasons in the Bolu Mountain Passage from now on. Currently, to reduce the congestion that occurs especially on Sundays at the Bolu Mountain passage, we restricted heavy vehicles from using the D-100 State Road and the Anatolian Highway on August 18 and 25 Sundays. We will continue this application on September 1, 2024, Sunday, which is tomorrow. With the inspections we will conduct between 14:00 and 23:00, we will limit the heavy vehicle traffic from using the state road and the highway towards Ankara-Istanbul. The restriction will be applied from the exit points of the city on the Ankara side and from the Karabük Junction on the Black Sea side. During this process, we will provide heavy vehicle traffic through the route of Ankara Beypazarı-Nallıhan-Mudurnu-Akyazı. Of course, all vehicle drivers, except heavy vehicles, can also use this road as an alternative route. Heavy vehicle drivers who prefer the Anatolian Highway and the Ankara-Bolu State Road towards Ankara-Istanbul can choose the Bolu-Mudurnu-Akyazı axis as an alternative to the D-100 State Road at the Bolu Mountain passage. At this point, we ask our drivers to consider these issues while planning their travel during the next 19 days until our works are completed. They should evaluate alternative routes. Of course, for their safety, we expect them to comply with the traffic signs and markers in the areas under construction. With these thoughts, I thank all my road colleagues for their successful works on the Bolu Mountain Tunnel of the Anatolian Highway, the Bolu Governorship, and the security organization. I especially thank the drivers and passengers who showed us the necessary tolerance and patience throughout our works.