Kırkgeçit Tunnels ( tr, Kırkgeçit Tünelleri, literally "Forty-Passes tunnels") are a series of seven motorway tunnels crossing the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir ...

on the province border of

Niğde Niğde (; grc, Νίγδη; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of Niğde province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey at an elevation of 1,299 m. In 2017 the city population was 141,010 people. The city is small with plenty ...

and

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The tunnels are located on the

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

- Tarsus motorway between Kemerhisar and

Pozantı Pozantı ( gr, Πενδοσις, Pendhòsis, formerly ar, الْبَدَندُون, el-Bedendûn) is a town and a district in the Adana Province of Turkey. The town is in the highlands of Çukurova, and is a major gateway to the Mediterranean co ...

connecting the Central Anatolia Region with the Mediterranean Region. Five of the tunnels in the north are in Niğde Province while the remaining two are situated in

Adana Province Adana Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey located in central Cilicia. With a population of 2.26 million, it is the sixth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 79% of the r ...

. All the seven tunnels are twin bores and carry three lanes of traffic in each direction. 16 viaducts named Kırkgeçit Viaducts connect the tunnels in series. Dangerous goods carriers are not permitted to use the tunnels. The Çakıt Tunnel follows the Kırkgeçit-7 Tunnel in direction Pozantı. The tunnels were constructed as part of the motorway O-21 and were opened to traffic on March 12, 2009. The tunnels allow the travel time of the passage through the mountainous terrain drop from one-and-half hours before to 20 minutes. A saving of 110 million annually is calculated for the national economy. The tunnels enable a through-traffic on motorways from the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n border Kapıkule to the border crossings to

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

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Road tunnels in Turkey Tunnels completed in 2009 Buildings and structures in Niğde Province Buildings and structures in Adana Province {{Tunnel-stub

See also

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External links