Turkey’s tough Geology: The Genesis of today’s Crossover TBMs at Kargı

Driven through a mountainside with 600 m of cover in Central Turkey, the Kargı Kızılırmak Hydroelectric Project is one of the most challenging tunneling projects ever completed in the region. The project is located on the Kızılırmak River, near the Beypazarı district of Ankara province in Turkey.

The Kızılırmak – Turkish for “Red River” – is the longest river in Turkey. The project includes a 13 m high, 450 m wide earth dam with a concrete spillway in the southern end and a water intake construction on the northern side. The dam creates an artificial lake with a high water head of 405 m above sea level. A 11.8 km headrace tunnel diverts the water from the dam to the powerhouse situated east of the village of Maksutlu. The water from the powerhouse will flow into the Boyabat reservoir at 330 m above sea level. Once online, the project will generate 470 GWh of power annually for project...

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