Dallıkavak Tunnel Opens, Cuts Erzurum-Rize Travel Time to Five Minutes
The new tunnel and connecting roads replace eight sharp hairpin turns on the Erzurum-Rize route.

KEY POINTS
- Dallıkavak Tunnel and connecting roads opened on October 31, 2026
- Tunnel is 3,105 metres long; total single-bore length is 6,210 metres
- Eight sharp turns removed; route lowered by 190 metres
- Travel time cut from 20 minutes to five minutes
- Annual savings projected at 103.7 million lira
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu opened the Dallıkavak Tunnel and connecting roads on Saturday, October 31, 2026. The nine-kilometre section on the Erzurum-Rize road is now in service.
The double-bore tunnel is 3,105 metres long, giving a total single-bore length of 6,210 metres. Together with 5.9 kilometres of connecting roads, it bypasses the Dallıkavak Pass at an altitude of 2,349 metres.
“We will offer our citizens safer, more comfortable and uninterrupted transportation.”
Eight sharp hairpin turns have been removed from the route, and the road alignment has been lowered by 190 metres. Travel time through the section has fallen from 20 minutes to five minutes.
The minister said the route has been shortened by 4.5 kilometres, with 4.6 kilometres saved on the current alignment. Work continues on a 21.3-kilometre section of the project.
The ministry estimates annual savings of 76.7 million lira in time and 27 million lira in fuel, totalling 103.7 million lira. Carbon emissions are expected to drop by 1,334 tonnes per year.
When all works on the Erzurum-Rize route are finished, the road will shrink from 248 kilometres to 196 kilometres, achieving a total reduction of 52 kilometres. Uraloğlu also said uninterrupted divided-road travel is planned from Rize to Erzurum, Bingöl and Diyarbakır.
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