Iran opens another section of major road project connecting Tehran with north

Iran has opened another section of a costly road project that connects the capital Tehran to resort areas along the Caspian Sea in the north of the country.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior transport ministry officials attended a ceremony on Monday to inaugurate the 15.5-kilometer return leg of Section 2 of Tehran-Shomal Highway.

The road stretches from Shahrestanak, a village located in the mountains separating Tehran from the Caspian Sea, to the Alborz Tunnel, the longest road tunnel in West Asia, which is located at the mouth of Section 1 of the Highway project.

A report by the official IRNA news agency said the newly-opened road has 16 tunnels with a total length of 11.7 kilometers and 12 bridges that cover 1.35 kilometers of the path.

It said the opening of the road would significantly reduce travel time for passengers returning from Caspian Sea resorts to Tehran.

The south-north leg of Section 2 of the highway had been opened in July 2023 with an investment of $134 million.

Iran has relied on domestic investment and know-how to complete the ambitious Tehran-Shomal Highway since companies from China and South Korea left the project in 2018 because of US sanctions.

The country opened the 32-kilometer Section 1 of the project in January 2020, some seven years after the completion of Section 4, a short drive in Mazandaran province between the town of Marzanabad and the coastal city of Chalus.

Iran’s Mostazafan Foundation, a large charitable organization that is in charge of the entire 121-kilometer highway project, said on Monday that the construction of Section 3 of the highway, a 54-kilometer road featuring 44 tunnels and 44 bridges, would end in 2030.

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