Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said that they have gone through the ages with the bridges and tunnels built in Istanbul and rebuilt them.
Noting that transportation investments increase the life comfort of the people, Minister Uraloğlu noted that they gave special importance to Istanbul during this period. Stating that there were 2003 bridges in Istanbul in 68 and the total length of these bridges was only 3 thousand 410 meters, Minister Uraloğlu said, “We increased the number of bridges to 947 and the total length of bridges to 114 thousand 419 meters. "Among these bridges, there are masterpieces such as Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and Osmangazi Bridge, which are signed by Turkish architects and engineers," he said.
Underlining that there were only 2003 tunnels in Istanbul in 3 and their total length was 932 meters, Minister Uraloğlu said, “We built 12 more tunnels to open the clogged traffic channels of Istanbul. Among these, there is the Eurasia Tunnel and MARMARAY, the Project of the Century, which connects the Asian and European continents with an undersea railway. "Currently, the total length of the tunnels in Istanbul exceeds 22 thousand meters," he said.
Stating that the investments made are masterpieces in terms of architecture and technology, as well as their economic size, Minister Uraloğlu said, “These giant investments, signed by our Turkish architects and engineers, make the lives of our citizens easier, while on the other hand, they provide significant added value to our country. "The world is watching these huge investments with envy," he said.
CERTIFIED PROJECTS…
Noting that the Eurasia Tunnel has a very important certificate worldwide, Uraloğlu said, “The technical framework was created by the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), creating an open and inclusive, transparent, financially, socially and environmentally sustainable infrastructure that supports the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.” "It has become the first project in the field of transportation in the world to successfully complete the Eurasia Tunnel pilot implementation process within the scope of the "Blue Dot Network Certificate" (BDN) given to its investments," he said.
A MILESTONE IN TERMS OF WORLD ENGINEERING HISTORY
Uraloğlu stated that the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge has many principles that can be considered milestones in terms of world engineering history and said, “The construction of the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge started in 2013 and was completed in a short period of 3 years and put into service on August 26, 2016. It is located on the 148 kilometers long Odayeri-Paşaköy section. The bridge has a total of 4 transportation lanes, including 2 road lanes on the outgoing and arriving directions and 10 railway lanes in the middle. "The tower height of the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, which is among the widest bridges in the world with 59 meters, exceeds 322 meters, and with its main span of 408 meters, it is the world's longest suspension bridge with a rail system," he said.
TURKEY'S PRESTIGE PROJECT
Minister Uraloğlu, "Reminding that Marmaray is one of the most prestigious projects of Turkey, said, "With the Marmaray Project, Halkalı It was built to facilitate transportation on the Bosphorus with a 76-kilometer railway route between Gebze and Gebze. Marmaray Project is one of the projects that relieves Istanbul traffic with its 1,4 kilometer long immersed tube tunnel, 9,4 kilometer long bored tunnels and 2,4 kilometer long cut and cover tunnels. It has 3 newly built underground stations, 37 aboveground stations, operational control centers, fields, workshops, maintenance facilities, 3 floors built above ground. "It consists of modern railway vehicles consisting of 440 wagons," he said.
NATURE FRIENDS…
Minister Uraloğlu said, “Osmangazi Bridge reduced the Gulf Crossing to 6 minutes. With the Istanbul-Izmir Highway, the transportation time between the two cities decreased from 9 hours to 3,5 hours. Osmangazi, also known as the Gulf Bridge, has already become one of the rare bridges in the world with its engineering features. It ranks 7th among the world's largest mid-span suspension bridges. Osmangazi Bridge, which was curved for the "Herzegovina Lagoon" where bird species live, was among the important structures that show the importance given to nature and biological diversity. It is described as the necklace of the Gulf of Izmit. "With the opening of the Osmangazi Bridge, the industrial load in Kocaeli's Gebze and Diloavası districts is reduced," he said.