Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, announced that a 70-kilometer section of the Aydın-Denizli Highway will be opened to traffic on Thursday, October 17th.

In a written statement regarding the Aydın-Denizli Highway, Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu recalled that last year they opened 93 kilometers of the road. He explained that they have completed the construction of the final 70-kilometer section of the highway, starting from Aydın-Denizli Highway Junction and ending at Kuyucak Junction. Uraloğlu stated, “The entire Aydın-Denizli Highway will be open to vehicle traffic on Thursday, October 17th. With the highway project, the journey between Aydın and Denizli, which currently takes 2 hours, will be reduced to 55 minutes.” Uraloğlu pointed out that Aydın and Denizli constitute a significant transportation corridor connecting the Aegean, Mediterranean, and Central Anatolia regions. He indicated that the route, which is a vital passage for commercial and touristic traffic, gains great importance with the connection to the Istanbul-İzmir and İzmir-Aydın highways. Uraloğlu remarked, “By opening the Aydın-Denizli Highway, we are adding another link to the uninterrupted highway route from Kapıkule, through Istanbul and the Marmara region, crossing the Aegean, to the Mediterranean.” Describing the Aydın-Denizli Highway as a 6-lane, 140-kilometer main road and a 4-lane, 23-kilometer connector road totaling 163 kilometers in length, Uraloğlu continued his statement: “The route starts at Aydın Ring Road Highway Junction, passes through Dalama to Yenipazar, crossing the southern part of Büyük Menderes River and reaches Kuyucak town. Passing north of Karapınar, and south of Azizabat and Yamalak settlements, the highway continues through Sarayköy, parallel to D-320 Aydın-Denizli State Road. Crossing over to the north of D-320 State Road at Kumkısık and surrounding Denizli, the highway proceeds towards Çeltikçi, Korucuk, and Kocadere, ending at Kocabaş.” Minister Uraloğlu emphasized that it will save time for the local people to reduce the travel time between Aydın and Denizli, which currently takes 1.5 to 2 hours based on traffic conditions, to 55 minutes thanks to the highway. He stated that the 220-kilometer highway between Denizli Western Ring Road Junction Kumkısık and İzmir Central Port Junction will also be reduced to 1 hour and 40 minutes. He added, “Therefore, the travel time from Aydın to Denizli via the state road will be equal to the travel time from Izmir to Denizli once the highway is completed. With the highway, we will save 4.5 billion liras in time and 800 million liras in fuel, resulting in an annual saving of 5.3 billion liras. In addition, by reducing the annual carbon emissions by 61,000 tons, we will make a significant contribution to the environment. With the opening of the highway, industrial and agricultural products from Denizli to İzmir Port will be transported faster. Easy access to tourism centers such as Pamukkale, Ephesus, Didim, and Kuşadası will increase tourism potential in the region. After the completion of the Denizli-Burdur and Burdur-Antalya highways in the subsequent stages following the Aydın-Denizli Highway section, the 580-kilometer state road between İzmir and Antalya will be replaced with a 440-kilometer highway. This will reduce the travel time from Izmir to Antalya from 6-7 hours to 3-3.5 hours, bringing two major tourism centers even closer together.”