SAEDNEWS: 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, alongside senior transport ministry officials, attended a ceremony on Monday to inaugurate the 15.5-kilometer return leg of Section 2 of the Tehran-Shomal Highway.
Stretching from Shahrestanak, a mountainous village separating Tehran from the Caspian Sea, to the Alborz Tunnel—the longest road tunnel in West Asia—this newly opened stretch features 16 tunnels totaling 11.7 kilometers and 12 bridges spanning 1.35 kilometers. The addition is expected to significantly reduce travel time for visitors returning from Caspian Sea resorts to Tehran.
The south-north leg of Section 2 was previously opened in July 2023 with a $134 million investment. Since foreign companies withdrew from the project in 2018 due to US sanctions, Iran has relied entirely on domestic investment and expertise to advance this ambitious infrastructure effort.
The Tehran-Shomal Highway has been gradually completed over the past decade. Section 1, a 32-kilometer stretch, opened in January 2020, while Section 4 in Mazandaran province was finished seven years earlier.
Looking ahead, Iran’s Mostazafan Foundation, overseeing the entire 121-kilometer highway, announced that Section 3—a 54-kilometer road featuring 44 tunnels and 44 bridges—is scheduled for completion by 2030. Once finished, the highway promises to transform travel between Tehran and the Caspian Sea, linking mountains, tunnels, and bridges in one of Iran’s most ambitious engineering feats.
