ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday inaugurated the Erbil-Gomaspan road, a 16-kilometer highway project aimed at improving traffic safety and reducing travel time on one of the Region’s key routes.
After opening the road, Prime Minister Barzani thanked the project’s implementation company, the Kurdistan Region-based Hemin Group, saying it “managed to execute this major project as always within a reasonable timeframe, in a very beautiful manner and to an international standard.”
“We are very pleased and proud that in the Kurdistan Region we now have companies that can build such large projects at such a high level,” Barzani said.
The highway includes five overpasses and one underpass, with each side measuring 10.75 meters in width. It is equipped with 50 drainage points to prevent rainwater accumulation and includes an eight-kilometer emergency lane. The speed limit on the road has been set at 100 kilometers per hour.
Barzani contrasted the newly inaugurated road with the previous one-sided Erbil-Gomaspan route, which he described as hazardous, saying the upgraded highway reduces travel time and improves safety.
“I also urge the public to adhere to traffic regulations and avoid excessive speed to protect their own lives and the lives of others,” he added.
Car accidents remain a common problem in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, where years of war, neglect and corruption have taken a toll on infrastructure. Many roads are riddled with potholes and lack proper lighting, making nighttime driving particularly dangerous.
In late September, Barzani said traffic accidents in the Kurdistan Region had dropped by 50 percent and traffic-related deaths by 60 percent following the introduction of highway point-to-point radar systems.