The construction of the Tehran-North Freeway began in 1997 with the participation of some foreign companies in four sections between the provinces of Tehran, Alborz, and Mazandaran.
The project aims to slow down traffic in the three provinces reduce the environmental problems and make safe trips between tourist and populated areas of the country.
In February 2020, then-president Hassan Rouhani officially inaugurated section I of the Tehran-North freeway which shortens the route between the Iranian capital and Mazandaran province.
The first section of the freeway spans nearly 32 kilometers and connects the Azadegan freeway in the capital to Shahrestanak county in Alborz province.
In early July 2023, after the opening of the second section of the Tehran-North Freeway, then-President Ebrahim Raisi visited the entire route of the second section on the ground.
The martyred president, being present at the beginning of the third section of the Freeway, ordered the start of the construction of this section.
The third section of the Freeway is nearly 54 km long at the end of the Alborz Tunnel and the end point of Alborz province, starting parallel to the Zanguleh Bridge and continuing to Marzanabad in Mazandaran province.
The most important feature of the section is its beginning at an altitude of 2,200 meters above sea level and its end at an altitude of about zero above sea level, which makes this project one of the most special road construction projects in the country with a 2,200-metre height difference along the way.
The total length of the Tehran-North Freeway is 121 km, of which 3 out of 4 sections have been put into operation.
The foreign contractor started the project but failed to complete more than 25% of the project after two decades.
That was when Indigenous experts took concrete steps to continue the mega project despite all the engineering complexity.
West Asia’s Longest Road Tunnel
In late July 2021, Iran opened the longest road tunnel in the West Asia region, the Alborz tunnel, a project that has cost over $160 million in direct government spending.
Then-President Hassan Rouhani ordered the tunnel's inauguration during a video conference call from his office in Tehran.
The tunnel, which is 6.5 km (4.03 miles) long, runs through the eastern range of the Alborz in Iran's north.
It aims to reduce the time and cost of traveling between the capital Tehran and cities on the Caspian Sea coast.
The project has cost over 40 trillion rials. It is part of the second section of the Tehran-Shomal Highway, a massive project co-financed by the Iranian administrative government and Mostazafan Foundation (MFJ).
Reported by Tohid Mahmoudpour
03:08 - 2024/09/18
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