Third bridge construction likely to employ thousands in Turkey

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet

The purpose of the third bridge is to ease the traffic burden in the city, says Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

Construction of the third bridge to span the Bosphorus will employ between 6,000 and 7,000 people, Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım has said. 

One of the project’s main purposes is to ease the traffic burden on Istanbul’s relatively inadequate transportation system, Yıldırım said on May 3. “We want vehicles to be able to take a transit route to save time via a high standard, uninterrupted, secure and comfortable road without entering local traffic. When the project is materialized passage time between Europe and Asia will shorten. Istanbul’s traffic density will be decreased by integrating [this project] with other transportation modes. The bridge will integrate Aegean and Marmara regions with Gebze-İzmir Highway, which is under construction,” he said. 

During the operating process of the bridge, which is a part of the 21-kilometer long North Marmara Highway Project, between 700 and 1000 people will be employed, he said. The total cost of the project is about $4.5 billion and is planned to come into use by the end of 2015, he said.

The construction of the 1,875-meter suspension bridge was awarded to the Turkish Italian venture İçtaş-Astaldi construction consortium, which offered a build and operate period of 10 year, 2 months and 20 days. They will complete the construction of the bridge in 36 months. 

Railway on the bridge

The third bridge features a railway system, which was not in the initial project plans. The bridge will be a two-story bridge with the railway running along the bottom level and the highway on the upper level. The railway system will connect the province of Edirne on the European part of Turkey and İzmit, Istanbul’s neighboring province on the Asian side. 

Also, Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen airports will be linked together with railway systems integrated to the Marmaray, which connects European and Asian sides of Istanbul through an underwater railway tunnel. 

Gebze-İzmir Highway 

The Gebze-İzmir Highway, which includes the 3-kilometer-long İzmit Bay Bridge, will shorten the transportation distance between Istanbul and İzmit by 140 kilometers. It is planned to be completed in seven years.

Automobile fare for İzmit Bay Bridge is estimated to be $35 excluding value added tax.

“The current transportation time [between the two cities] will fall down to 3.5-4 hours from 8-10 hours. The project will enable 870 million Turkish Liras fuel saving,” Yıldırım said.