Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that the Kınalı-Malkara Motorway will enable the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge and the Malkara-Çanakkale Motorway to reach Istanbul. Minister Uraloğlu noted that thanks to the road, the travel time between Istanbul and Tekirdağ will be reduced to less than 1 hour and the travel time between Istanbul and Çanakkale will be reduced to 2 hours. Uraloğlu said, “With the completion of the Kınalı-Malkara Motorway, an uninterrupted motorway connection will be provided between Osmangazi, Yavuz Sultan Selim and the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge.”
The foundation of the Kınalı-Malkara Highway Project was laid at a ceremony held on the 110th anniversary of the Çanakkale Naval Victory. The ceremony was held with the participation of Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu.
Approximately 1915 Million Vehicles Passed Over the 7 Çanakkale Bridge
Minister Uraloğlu, in his statement at the ceremony, reminded that they opened the Malkara-Çanakkale Highway and the 107 Çanakkale Bridge, one of the biggest transportation projects in the history of the Republic, on the 1915th anniversary of the Çanakkale Victory. Uraloğlu also stated that approximately 7 million vehicles have passed through the bridge since its opening and said, “In the last 23 years, under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, we have brought many more works to our country such as the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge and the Malkara-Çanakkale Highway. We continue to build new ones.”
218 Billion Lira Investment in Çanakkale's Transportation and Communication Infrastructure
Uraloğlu stated that since 2002, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has invested approximately 218 billion liras for the transport and communication infrastructure of Çanakkale and continued his words as follows:
“We increased the length of the divided highway from 20 kilometers to 438 kilometers, and the length of the hot bituminous mixture coated road from 45 kilometers to 671 kilometers. There were no tunnels in Çanakkale, we built 16 tunnels with a length of 771 meters. By opening the Assos and Troya Tunnels, we eliminated the nightmare of drivers from the Kaz Mountains, which contain dozens of sharp bends. We reduced the transportation time in the Kaz Mountains from 6 minutes to 50 minutes, and strengthened the logistics highway infrastructure in the hinterland of Çanakkale and İzmir ports.”
Uraloğlu, who also reminded that they opened the Eceabat tunnels built within the Gelibolu-Eceabat Road on the 100th anniversary of the Republic, said, “We provided a fast, safe and comfortable connection to the Gallipoli Historical Site of the Battles of Çanakkale with the Gelibolu-Eceabat Road. While ensuring the protection of the natural, historical and archaeological sites and the texture of the region with the tunnels, we also shortened the current route by 900 meters, reducing travel time from 45 minutes to 25 minutes. Last year, we raised the transportation standard between the districts of Çanakkale by opening the Bayramiç-Etili Peripheral Roads. We provided fast and high-standard access to the Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Technopark Campus and Sarıcaeli Village with the Sarıcaeli-Technopark Different Level Intersection.”
It will enable the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge and the Malkara-Çanakkale Highway to reach Istanbul
Minister Uraloğlu stated that they are proud and excited to start the construction of the Kınalı-Malkara Highway, which will enable the 2022 Çanakkale Bridge and Malkara-Çanakkale Highway, which were put into service in 1915, to reach Istanbul and said, “We have designed our Kınalı-Malkara Highway as a 3-kilometer main body with 3 lanes in 6 directions and 107 directions, and a 2-kilometer connection road with 2 lanes in 4 directions, with a total length of 20 kilometers. Within the scope of the project, we will also construct 127 bridges with a length of 29 meters, 16 overpasses with a length of 2 meters, 872 underpasses with a length of 56 meters, 2 intersections, 141 of which are on highways and 33 on state roads, 9 highway service facilities, and 8 toll collection stations.”
“Transportation between Istanbul and Tekirdağ will be reduced to under an hour”
Uraloğlu stated that when the Kınalı-Malkara Highway is completed, the current 132-kilometer Istanbul-Tekirdağ road will be shortened by 18 kilometers to 114 kilometers, and said, “The Istanbul-Çanakkale road, which is 334 kilometers on the state road, will be reduced to 280 kilometers on the highway. Transportation between Istanbul-Tekirdağ will be reduced to less than an hour, and transportation between Istanbul-Çanakkale will be reduced from 3,5 hours to 2 hours.”
Uraloğlu, who drew attention to the fact that approximately 2,3 billion liras will be saved annually, including 377 billion liras in time and 2,7 million liras in fuel, said, “We will contribute to the protection of nature by reducing the carbon emissions of vehicles that harm the environment by 23 thousand tons. With the completion of the Kınalı-Malkara Highway, the northern side of the Marmara Highway Ring will be completely connected and an uninterrupted highway connection will be provided between the Osmangazi Bridge, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge.”
255 Kilometer Highway Network Planned Around the Marmara Sea
Uraloğlu also stated that they planned a total of 255 kilometers of highway network around the Marmara Sea within the scope of the Marmara Highway Ring in order to strengthen the integration of ports, railway and air transportation systems with highway transportation projects in the Marmara and Aegean Regions, which are the most developed regions of the Turkish economy and where a significant portion of the population lives, and continued his words as follows:
“In this context, we have completed the 398-kilometer Northern Marmara Motorway to date. We have opened the 426-kilometer Istanbul-Izmir Motorway. Finally, we opened the 1915-kilometer Malkara-Çanakkale section, which also includes the 101 Çanakkale Bridge, in 2022. In other words, a 925-kilometer section of the Marmara Motorway ring serves traffic. We are currently starting work on the 127-kilometer Kınalı-Malkara Section of the Kınalı-Tekirdağ-Çanakkale Motorway together with you. We plan to put into practice the 136-kilometer Çanakkale-Savaştepe section, which is the last piece that will complete the Marmara Motorway Ring, in the coming period.”
Traffic Load Will Be Balanced From the West Coast of the Marmara Sea to the South
Emphasizing that the Marmara Ring plays an important role in Türkiye’s national development drive, Uraloğlu said, “With the Northern Marmara Motorway, which is the first stage of this ring, the heavy transit traffic load that Istanbul has undertaken between Europe and Anatolia has been relieved. With the completion of the motorway ring, the traffic load that is currently concentrated on the east-west axis centered in Istanbul throughout Western Anatolia will be balanced from the western coast of the Marmara Sea to the south.”
Uraloğlu also stated that the industry, trade and service sectors in Thrace and Western Anatolia will gain momentum, and that faster and lower-cost freight transport will strengthen the economic activities of these regions with productive populations. Uraloğlu also said that the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge will be used more effectively in evacuations in the west of Istanbul in the event of a possible Istanbul earthquake.
