Astarachay Bridge to facilitate CIS & Eastern European countries' access to Gulf of Oman

“A new bridge connecting Azerbaijan and Iran over the Astarachay River is set to provide CIS and Eastern European countries with access to the Gulf of Oman,” Iran's Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Khairullah Khademi, said at a meeting held at the Plan and Budget Organisation of Iran, Azernews reports.

Khademi reported that 95 percent of the construction on the 138-kilometer Qazvin-Rasht freeway has been completed, with ongoing construction on the remaining 8.2 kilometres of the road. “This road will enhance trade relations between the central and southern regions of Iran with the regions of Azerbaijan and Russia.”

Describing the Qazvin-Rasht freeway as an important part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), Khairullah Khademi stressed that the new road and its facilitation of transit cargo transportation would contribute to expanding trade between Iran and its neighbours.

The construction of the new bridge over the Astarachay River, which is the eastern border between Iran and Azerbaijan, started on January 25, 2022. The bridge is 97.5 metres long and 30.5 metres wide, with three spans and four lanes, with two additional lanes for backup traffic. It also has two pedestrian crossings, each 2.5 metres wide.

Moreover, according to the report, the bridge has been designed to have the capacity to withstand up to 800 trucks crossing the bridge every day.