Public to decide name for Istanbul’s new ‘Eurasia tunnel’ through online survey

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

DHA photo

The name of the historic new “Eurasia tunnel” crossing under Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait will be be chosen through an online poll, Turkey’s transport minister has said.        

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency on Dec. 1, Ahmet Arslan said the public will be able to choose names for the 14.6-kilometer (9 mile) tunnel through Dec. 10 by visiting his ministry’s website at udhb.gov.tr.      

The tunnel, linking Kazlıçeşme on Istanbul’s European side and Göztepe in Asia, aims to reduce chronic traffic congestion in Turkey’s most populous city.      

The key task in the construction of the tunnel was drilling through over 3 km (1.86 miles) of rock in the Bosporus seabed, a phase completed in August 2015, he added.        

Arslan said that thanks to intensive work, the $1.25 billion tunnel will open eight months ahead of schedule, and will shorten a 100-minute cross-Bosphorus journey to just 15 minutes.        

The mega project will connect the city’s European and Asian sides with one railway and two ground vehicle routes. It was contracted in 2009 through a joint Turkish-Korean venture later named Eurasian Tunnel Operation Construction and Investment (ATAS).        

Designed for light vehicles, tolls of around $4 for cars and $6 for minibuses will be levied.