2.5 Million Hours of Savings in a Week with Osmangazi Bridge and Izmir-Istanbul Highway

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu announced that a total of 3.5 million hours of savings were achieved between July 5 and July 11 with the Osmangazi Bridge and Izmir-Istanbul Highway project, which reduced the distance between Istanbul and Izmir to 2.5 hours. Pointing out that an average of 7,5 hours per vehicle and 1.5 million liters of fuel were saved, Karaismailoğlu stated that the total cost of savings from fuel, time and emissions is 85 million TL.

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu made a written statement about Osmangazi Bridge and İzmir-Istanbul Highway. Pointing out that the Osmangazi Bridge is the golden ring of the Istanbul-Izmir Highway, which is among the important projects of Turkey, Karaismailoğlu noted that the Istanbul-Izmir Highway, which is 426 kilometers in total, consists of 384 kilometers of highway and 42 kilometers of connection roads. Karaismailoğlu pointed out that the current route has been shortened by 100 kilometers with the highway, and the travel time has decreased from 8,5 hours to 3,5 hours. Karaismailoğlu said, "If the Istanbul-Izmir Highway had not been built, the travel time would have increased up to 13 hours on busy days," and emphasized that the Osmangazi Bridge, which constitutes the most important part of the project, crossed the bay in 6 minutes.

THE EVENING DAY 80 THOUSAND 624 VEHICLES PASSED THE OSMANGAZİ BRIDGE AND THE GULF IN 6 MINUTES

Minister of Transport Karaismailoğlu said, “It took one and a half hours to cross the Gulf by car using the existing road, and 45 to 60 minutes by ferry. On busy days, the waiting time was hours. The journey that took hours ended with Osmangazi Bridge. Between 4-11 July, a total of 435 thousand 859 vehicles crossed the bridge. On the eve of July 8, 80 vehicles broke the crossing record on the bridge," he said.

Underlining that savings are achieved with Osmangazi Bridge and Izmir-Istanbul Highway, Karaismailoğlu said, “The most important gain in the period we live in is time. It was determined that an average of 7,5 hours per vehicle and 2,5 million hours in total were saved. A total of 1,5 million liters of fuel were saved. The total amount of savings from fuel, time and emissions with Osmangazi Bridge and Izmir-Istanbul Highway on July 5-11 was 85 million TL.