Drilling works completed in Istanbul’s Eurasia undersea tunnel

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

DHA photo

Drilling works for a roadway tunnel connecting Istanbul’s European and Asian sides, the Eurasia Tunnel, has been completed. 

The two continents have been connected by a 3.34 km-long tunnel under the sea in the framework of the project, which is also dubbed the Istanbul Straight Road Crossing Project. 

The drilling works, which were started in April 2014 on the Asian side in a ceremony, attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, officially ended on Aug. 22 on the European side in a ceremony with the attendance of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Transportation Minister Feridun Bilgin as well as top executives of the construction companies. 

The total distance of the tunnel will be 5.4 kilometers, 3.34 kilometers of which are under the sea. With the access roads, the Eurasia Tunnel Project’s total distance will be 14.6 kilometers. At its deepest point, the tunnel will be 106.4 meters below the surface.

The whole project is planned to be completed in the first quarter of 2017. 

With the new tunnel, the travel time between the Kazlıçeşme district on the European side and the Göztepe district on the Asian side by car will decrease to 15 minutes during rush hours from around 100 minutes. This will make a positive contribution to the economy by decreasing fuel consumption amounts as well as carbon emission amounts, according to project holders. 

The project has been realized upon a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model for an investment at $1,2 billion. Some 960 million of this amount was provided through international loans, and the remaining amount was put by the project holders, Yapı Merkezi and SK E&K. 

According to international standardization reports, the tunnel will last at least 127 years. 

After the completion of the project, the Eurasia Tunnel Operation, Construction and Investment Co. will run the tunnel in the next 24 years and five months. Then the tunnel’s operational rights will be transferred to the state. 

Mayor demands one animal sacrifice for each meter

With drilling works for a road tunnel connecting Istanbul’s European and Asian sides being completed, Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş has issued an unusual request to the public: Sacrifice one animal for each meter of the 3.34 km tunnel and distribute the meat to people in need.

The demand was conveyed by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu at a ceremony to publicize the completion of the undersea work on Aug. 22.

If citizens honor Topbaş’s request, they will have to sacrifice a total of 3,340 animals each.

Istanbul’s two continents have been connected by the 3.34 km-long under-sea tunnel as part of the Eurasia Tunnel project, which is also dubbed the “Istanbul Straight Road Crossing Project.”