Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the 1,100-kilometer highway project, known as the Shrine to Shrine Highway, on Saturday.
The project was given that name since the highway will connect the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Ma'soumeh (PBUH) — daughter of Imam Musa Kazem (PBUH) — in Qom to the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH) in Mashhad.
The six-line freeway will pass through the cities of Garmsar, Semnan, and Sabzevar.
The project also includes an electric railway which will connect Isfahan, Qom, and Tehran to Mashhad.
According to Iranian Roads and Transportation Minister Hamid Behbahani, about $3 billion has been allocated for the highway project and about $1 billion for the railway project.
The construction of the Shrine to Shrine Highway will take 48 months, Behbahani told IRIB on Saturday.
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