President Ilham Aliyev's instruction, one of the most important road infrastructure projects being implemented in the territory of Karabakh and East Zangezur economic regions is the 75.8-kilometer-long Kalbajar-Lachin highway,
Construction of the road and tunnels is underway.
To note, the State Road Agency of Azerbaijan is carrying out drilling and pouring works on certain sections of the road, and a new soil deposit is being constructed. In addition, rectangular and round water pipes are being laid, as well as the construction of water channels, drainage works, and construction of stone walls. Out of the 17 highway tunnels planned to be constructed along the road, construction work is progressing well in 10 of them.
If an existing bypass road is used, extreme landslide areas are encountered. Furthermore, in winter with heavy snowfall and frosty weather, safe operation of the road may not be possible. Therefore, it was decided to build the bypass directly through the tunnels. The width of the roadway in the tunnels will be 11.6 meters and the total length of the tunnels will be 13,300 meters.
Drilling has already been completed in 7 tunnels constructed on the Kalbajar-Lachin road, and intra-tunnel works are ongoing.
The tunnels in which drilling is being completed are as follows:
- T1 - KM (2+152.10-2+333.7). Length 205.6 m.
- T2 - KM (3+533.61-3+880.51). Length 370.9 m.
- T3 - KM (4+054-5+838.00). Length 1.808 m.
- T4 - KM (26+747.50-27+193.45). Length 469.95 m.
- T5 - KM (27+244.15-27+853.3). Length 633.15 m.
- T8 - KM (45+216.00-45+936.92). Length 719.8 m.
- T9 - KM (54+206.45-54+392.950). Length 210.5 m.
Drilling continues in the tunnels conventionally named T6, T7, and T10. The technical parameters of the above-mentioned tunnels are the following:
- T6 - KM (32+577.20-34+950.83). The length of the right part is 2397.63 m.
- T6 - KM (32+584.00-34+953.47). The length of the left part is 2393.47 m.
- T7 - KM (44+050.150-44+296.010). Length 268.65 m.
- T10 - KM (56+580.210-56+56+892.210). Length 330.85 m.
Works continue in these tunnels to remove sections consisting of rocky soils by drilling, blasting and crushing methods in both directions, at the entrance and exit. In other project tunnels, work is scheduled to begin in phases:
- Tunnel T11 - 383 meters.
- Tunnel T12 - 681 meters.
- Tunnel T13 - 469 meters.
- Tunnel T14 - 714.46 meters.
- Tunnel T15 - 554 meters.
- T16 tunnel - 211 meters.
- Tunnel T17 - 494 meters.
This highway, which connects Kalbajar and Lachin districts, has two, three, and four lanes and is built according to the first and second technical degrees.
In order to ensure the passage of water along the road, the construction of 66 round and 139 rectangular pipes with a total length of 8,910.47 meters, 23 road bridges with a total length of 4,179 meters, and three interchanges with a length of 1,076 meters, as well as 4,248.04 meters of supports and 30,521.21 meters of stone walls are underway.
Kalbajar-Lachin highway originates in Gamishli village of Kalbajar district and passes through the territory of Lachin district, which was liberated from occupation. The new road will provide convenient connections to many settlements in these districts, as well as to the Lachin International Airport, which is under construction.
