1915 Çanakkale Bridge Shows the Point of Turkish Engineering

Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, General Manager of Highways, who was in Çanakkale within the scope of the final deck installation ceremony of the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, which was held with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, made a statement to TRT News.

Uraloğlu stated that the last layer of asphalt was laid in the 101 km highway construction works of the project, and that the welding processes will be completed by placing the last deck on the bridge. General Manager Uraloğlu said that they aim to open the project on March 18 by making the superstructure, isolation, asphalt, lighting of the road, and activating the transition systems and smart transportation systems.

Evaluating the progress Turkey has made in bridge construction in the recent period, General Manager Uraloğlu said, “We can see where the Turkish contracting and engineering sector has come, with the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, the largest in the world, behind us. Even though the project is carried out with 2 local and 2 foreign partners, 98 percent of its employees are Turkish engineers and workers, and I think this shows the point reached.” said.

“There are both ties and symbols on the bridge”

Referring to the historical features of the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, Uraloğlu said that the bridge is the largest in the world with a middle span of 2.023 meters, and a monolithic structure of 3.563 meters, including the side spans; If we include the approach viaducts, we are talking about a structure with a length of 4.608 meters until it leaves one land and crosses to the other land. Again, commemorating the 100th anniversary of our Republic, the bridge, which has a middle span of 2.023 meters, has a tower height of 318 meters, representing the 18 March Çanakkale Victory, and the foot colors bear the colors of the Turkish Flag. We have processed the motifs of Turkish-Islamic works on some of the structures within it. The piers of the bridge also represent the four pillars of the Çanakkale Martyrs' Monument, we can say that 'there are both widths and symbols on the bridge'. he said.

Speaking about the gains that the bridge will bring to our country with the completion of the bridge, General Manager Uraloğlu said: “We do not just connect Çanakkale to the crossing. We are completing the international corridors and a part of the Marmara Highway Ring. When we complete this project, a short passage will be provided for the traffic that will pass from the European side to Asia, especially to the Aegean and the Mediterranean.”

Significant gain in travel time

Uraloğlu explained that although it seems like a 1-hour gain is being achieved on the European side, there will actually be a 5-6 hour shortening in the travel time, considering the seasonal effects in ferry transportation. Expressing that the voyages that cannot be made in the fog will not affect the navigation on the highway, Uraloğlu added that the 1600 meters wide and 70 meters high navigation channel on the bridge will not create an obstacle to sea transportation.