In Adıyaman, one of the 10 southeastern provinces severely hit by last week's twin earthquakes, the General Directorate of Highways announced it has started the restoration of roads to ensure timely access to aid for earthquake victims after the powerful tremors affected infrastructure in most parts of the region.

Several points of the Adıyaman-Malatya highway became completely inaccessible while the supporting walls of the highway collapsed due to 7.7 and 7.6 tremors and hundreds of aftershocks that have occurred since then.

Teams from the Kayseri Highways 6th Regional Directorate that arrived in the region with construction equipment on Monday have started repairing the damaged parts on the highway.

During the restoration work, one side of the 1,816-meter (38,765-foot) Erkenek Tunnel, located on the same highway, was temporarily closed to traffic due to damage.

Highways construction site chief Çağatay Naz told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they are working with many teams to repair the roads as soon as possible.

Explaining that the earthquake caused heavy damage to the roads, Naz noted that the condition of the roads is terrible. "The earthquake caused massive damage. All the roads have been affected because of the earthquake. We are also working hard to ensure the smooth running of the transportation network. We will repair all the roads quickly," Naz assured.