Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the $2.8-billion 1915 Canakkale Bridge, which will connect the northwestern province of Canakkale’s Gelibolu district on the European side and the Lapseki district on the Asian side
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan poses for photos in front of the 1915 Canakkale Bridge, in Canakkale. The structure was constructed at a cost of $2.8 billion. AP
Imagine making it from Europe to Asia in six minutes? Sounds impossible, doesn’t it?
However, it’s not just fantasy, but a reality. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened a massive suspension bridge across Turkey’s Dardanelles Strait on Friday.
Built at a cost of $2.8-billion, the 1915 Canakkale Bridge connects the northwestern province of Canakkale’s Gelibolu district on the European side and the Lapseki district on the Asian side.
Here’s all that we know of this record-breaking bridge and the significance it holds.
Details of the bridge
The structure, also known as the Dardanelles Bridge, began in March 2018 and was thrown open to traffic on 18 March after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated it.
Until now, vehicles travelling between Anatolia and the Gallipoli peninsula had to cross the Dardanelles in a one-hour ferry journey, which including waiting time amounted to as much as five hours.
Built by Turkish and South Korean firms, the bridge boasts of having the longest main span, measuring 2.023 kilometres — the distance between the two towers — of any suspension bridge in the world.
It surpasses the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan by 32 metres.
As per a report in the Hurriyet News, the bridge has some encoded characteristics symbolising some elements of Turkish history. The height of the bridge towers is 318 metres, indicating the “Day 18 of the third month.”
Additionally, above the towers, there are four monuments symbolising huge cannonballs a Turkish soldier carried on his back amid the Gallipoli campaign in 1915.
The length of the bridge’s main span of the bridge is 2,023 metres, which is also a reference to the next year 2023, which marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic.
The total length of the bridge is 3,563 metres. Together with its approach, the length reaches 4,608 metres, making it the longest bridge of any kind in Turkey.
The bridge deck carries six lanes, three in each direction, with two walkways on each side for maintenance. The deck of the bridge is 72.8 metres high and has a total width of 45.06 metres.
When asked the reason why 1915 has been added to the name of the bridge, Adil Karaismailoglu, minister of transport and infrastructure, was quoted as saying it was to honour the Canakkale Naval Victory of 18 March 1915.
The Canakkale Battle, also known as the Gallipoli campaign, is when Britain and France suffered an unexpected defeat while trying to cross the Gallipoli Strait with warships to occupy Istanbul during World War I. It is one of Turkiye’s most important victories, commemorated with the country honouring its fallen soldiers.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivering a speech during the inauguration ceremony of the 1915 Canakkale Bridge over the Dardanelles strait and the Malkara-Canakkale Motorway, in Canakkale, northwestern Turkey. Work on the bridge began in March 2018 and over 5,000 workers toiled to complete this project. AFP
What Erdogan had to say?
President Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the bridge amid much pomp and paegantry. Speaking at the inauguration, he said, “These works will continue to provide profit for the state for many years.”
He also added that the bridge would “keep alive the memory of Dardanelle martyrs.”
Members of his government also praised the bridge, with Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu being quoted as saying, “The bridge was constructed some one-and-a-half years earlier than planned. This will ensure some 411 million euros to the country’s economy.”
“The bridge will rejuvenate tourism, agriculture and industry [in the country],” Bulent Turan, ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) deputy chairperson, told daily Milliyet.
However, the bridge construction isn’t without criticism.
A Reuters report said that the main opposition, the Republican People’s Party, has criticised the potential cost of the bridge to the public.
With inputs from agencies
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