Urmia Causeway

[Gilgamesh]

Lake Urmia is a salt lake in northwestern Iran, in Iranian Azarbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea. It is the largest lake inside Iran, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km². At its maximum extent, it is about 140 km long, and 55 km wide. Its deepest point is approximately 16 m deep.



In 1979, one of the country's largest national projects was launched and despite elapse of two decades it has not been completed. The project for construction of a highway across the Urmia Lake was aimed at facilitating communication route for Azari speaking people of Tabriz and Urmia, living on both sides of the lake. Earth and stones were brought down from mountains and construction work on a large national project was kicked off.

The Urmia Lake road project was initiated by the then Minister of Road and Transportation Musa Kalantari in the second half of 1979 with an aim of cutting short the distance between Urmia and Tabriz.

The project is being implemented by contractors from Western and Eastern sides of the lake in three separate parts - from Urmia to the lake, over the lake and from Sefid Gonbad to Sarai. The part of the road running over the lake is divided into two western and eastern sides.

In order for the waters to flow uninterruptedly between the northern and southern sides of the lake, there is a 1,400 meter long opening, which after the completion of the highway, would be covered by a bridge. The western part of the highway stretching from Sarai juncture to Urmia town is 67 kilometers, of which 15.4 kilometers is located over the lake.

http://www.urmia.com/bridge.html

[Gilgamesh]

Bridge on Lake Urmia to be completed next year

URMIA, West Azarbaijan Prov. – The construction of a new bridge in northwestern Iran is to be completed by June 2007.

The 50-kilometer bridge is being built on the Urmia Lake, a salt lake between the provinces of East Azarbaijan and West Azarbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea. It is the largest lake inside Iran. The lake is named after the provincial capital city of Urmia, originally a Syriac name meaning city of water. Its ancient Persian name was Chichest.

[Gilgamesh]

[shugs]

Ah I see you finally found some pics of it Gilgi :P

From what I've read it's about time they made this bridge, its been in the works for a long time.. bureaucracy eh lol

Anyway, great addition to Iran's infractructure profile

[alitezar]

Wow so cool and what a beautiful lake.

[Gilgamesh]

Rls.600b Needed to Complete Orumiyeh Bridge



The total cost of bridge project over Orumiyeh Lake is estimated at one trillion rials, of which 400 billion rials has been spent so far.


ORUMIYEH, West Azarbaijan, Dec. 12--Minister of Roads and Transportation Mohammad Rahmati said here on Tuesday that the key bridge project over Orumiyeh Lake would require 600 billion rials (€ 49M) to be completed, stressing that the project has recorded favorable progress in the past few months.

According to ILNA, the minister, who was in the northwestern province to inspect the project, further said that the project’s total cost is estimated at one trillion rials (€ 82M), of which 400 billion rials (€ 32M) has been spent so far.
The official said the project will reduce the distance between Tabriz and Orumiyeh by 124 kilometers.

“Saving fuel consumption, facilitating access to the two major provincial capitals and reducing pollution are among the objectives of the project,“ he said, adding that the bridge will also help reduce road accidents in the area.

He said some sections of the project will become operational by March 2007.

[mahdial_x5]

would not the iron rust in all that salt???

[mahdial_x5]

thats is, if they are using iron which i doubt

hope itll be finished, very beautiful lake indeedd

[persis]

It seems they are building a dam on the Orumiyeh Lake
nemidoonam ma nemitoonim yeh poleh kabli besazim?!
mesleh in:



injuri keh ina daran roogozar misazan daryacheh nesf misheh
tazeh pol-hayeh kabli niaz be sotoonhayeh kamtari daran keh beh dardeh daryacheh-haee mesleh orumieh mikhoran keh aabesh poreh namakeh va har sazeh-ee ro sost mikoneh
too sarzamini keh mahdeh polsaziyeh ma yeh poleh modern nemitoonim besazim

dar zemn oon payeh hayeh felezi zamaneh Pahlavi sakhteh shodan keh baed didan sotoonhayeh khoobi barayeh polsazi nistan va digeh edameh nadadan

[Gilgamesh]

Originally Posted by Urmia @ flickr.com

Urmia lake is located in the North-west of Iran. It is the second great Salt Lake in the world, that is only suitable for Artemia to live in.
The lake is between two Provinces of West and East Azarbaijan in Iran, two major cities of Urmia and Tabriz. If you choose to travel this distance you will have two options:
1. The way that doesn`t meet the lake, just going round the lake which takes 4 hours.
2. Going through the lake. that you and your car needs to board on the lighter or barge. ( Is it called so? )

This one takes 2 hours at the least. If there are many in the line, it takes several hours, for there aren`t many of the ships over there



So far many attempts has been done to make a bridge over the lake, all of which has failed.

First, Iron supporters were planted to make the bridge. Later, they found that about 40 meters under the sea their is no hard soil that makes the supporters get deeper inside the lake or stay not steady and upright.
Currently though, this project has taken a more scientific way to deal with this natural barrier.

Many engineers from in and out of the country have studied it and these huge supporters are implanted inside the lake. They say they will finish it in a year.

Urmia @ flickr.com © All rights reserved.

[Gilgamesh]

[mahdial_x5]

NICE progress, thank you for the pics!

[sarbaze tabarestan]

urumye tabriz bridge
it will reduce the 111 kilometer of the distance noe beeing used to trabel between two cities!

[sarbaze tabarestan]

[alitezar]

Thanks for the update

[sinasina]

i think they should repaint the whole structure every 4ishmonth

[sarbaze tabarestan]

[sarbaze tabarestan]

[sarbaze tabarestan]

[sarbaze tabarestan]