Mount Bolu Tunnel ( tr, Bolu Dağı Tüneli) is a highway
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
constructed through the
Bolu
Bolu is a city in Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province. The population is 131,264 (2012 census).
The city has been governed by mayor Tanju Özcan ( CHP) since local elections in 2019. It was the site of Ancient Claudiopolis a ...
Mountain in
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 ...
between
Kaynaşlı, Düzce and
Yumrukaya, Bolu.
Construction
The tunnel is part of the
Gümüşova-
Gerede
Gerede is a town and a district of Bolu Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is located on the highway from Istanbul to Ankara (approximately from Ankara, where the road to the Black Sea coast branches off). It covers an area of , and ...
Highway
O-4 /
E80 within the
Trans-European Motorway
The Trans-European Motorways (abbreviated "TEM") are a project of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe of sub-regional cooperation among Central, Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chi ...
project, which was carried out by the Turkish Bayındır and Italian
Astaldi
Astaldi S.p.A. is an Italian multinational major construction company based in Rome. The group is active in the fields of civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, Electromechanical Engineering and transportation.
Significant subsidiaries incl ...
joint venture since April 16, 1993.
The total cost of the tunnel is about US$300 million. It has twin bores carrying three lanes of traffic in each direction.
The tunnel crosses the
North Anatolian Fault
The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) ( tr, Kuzey Anadolu Fay Hattı) is an active right-lateral strike-slip fault in northern Anatolia, and is the transform boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Anatolian Plate. The fault extends westward fro ...
. The November 12, 1999
Düzce earthquake (MW=7.2) caused substantial damage to the tunnel and viaducts, which were under construction at the time of the earthquake.
On September 4, 2005 the excavation of the tunnel in the
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
-
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 ...
direction was finished. The excavation for the tunnel in the Ankara-Istanbul direction was completed by the beginning of August 2005.
Opening to traffic
The Istanbul-Ankara direction () was opened to traffic on January 23, 2007 by the Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...
and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
Prime Minister
Romano Prodi
Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prim ...
.
Four months following the initial opening, on May 7, the Ankara-Istanbul direction () became operational.
Speed in the tunnel is limited to .
Dangerous goods carriers are not permitted to use the tunnel.
See also
*
List of motorway tunnels in Turkey
Below is the list of highway tunnels on List of highways in Turkey#Motorways, Turkish motorways.
Motorway Tunnels
Motorway Tunnels (under construction)
Motorway Tunnels (projected)
*Yalova-İzmit Motorway Tunnels, Yalova-İzmit Motorway, Yalova ...
References
External links
* Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Server
''Bolu Viaducts and Tunnel''* Ankara, Turkish Daily News
''Mont Blanc sets example for Mt. Bolu Tunnel''
{{Tunnels in Turkey
Road tunnels in Turkey
Buildings and structures in Düzce Province
Transport in Bolu Province
Tunnels completed in 2007