The 1915 Canakkale Bridge, which is the world’s longest road suspension bridge, was inaugurated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday (March 18). The stunning bridge has been built over the Dardanelles strait in northwestern Turkey. The bridge is the latest in a series of major infrastructure projects that Erdogan has prioritised during his two decades in power.
The bridge will travel time between Asia and Europe to six minutes and 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. The journey will now take around six minutes.
1915 Canakkale Bridge is the fourth bridge linking the European and Asian shores in Turkey, alongside the three built in Istanbul.
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At an opening ceremony on the anniversary of a 1915 Ottoman naval victory against French and British forces in the Dardanelles during World War I, Erdogan said, “These works will continue to provide profit for the state for many years.”
The Turkish leader, who uses such massive infrastructure projects as a means to drive economic growth, said, “These projects have a large share in putting our country ahead in investment, workforce and exports.”
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The gigantic structure was designed by Tekfen and T-ingénierie COWI A/S and work on the Dardanelles bridge project was launched in March 2017, with more than 5,000 workers involved in the construction.
The 2,023 metres length of its midspan is an allusion to the Turkish Republic’s 100th anniversary in 2023. On the other hand, the total height of the bridge’s two towers is 318 metres tall, making it the second tallest bridge in Turkey, after the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, and the third tallest structure in the country.
(With inputs from agencies)
