The Birecik Bridge is a long

deck arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ( ...

carrying the D.400 across the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

Birecik Birecik; ku, Bêrecûk is a town and district of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey, on the Euphrates. Built on a limestone cliff 400 ft. high on the left/east bank of the Euphrates, "at the upper part of a reach of that river, which runs near ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Geography

The bridge is on the state highway , which runs from southwest to southeast Turkey. It spans over Fırat River (Euphrates) at about . The river marks the boundary between

Nizip Nizip ( gkm, Nisibis or Nisibina; ota, نزيب) is a town and district of Gaziantep Province of southeastern Turkey. As of 2010, the population of the city is 96,229. It is located 45 km from the city of Gaziantep, 95 km from Şanlıu ...

district of

Gaziantep Province Gaziantep Province ( tr, ) is a province in south-central Turkey. It is located in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region. Its capital is the city of Gaziantep. It neighbours Ad ...

and

district of

Şanlıurfa Province Şanlıurfa Province ( tr, Şanlıurfa ili; ku, Parêzgeha Rihayê) or simply Urfa Province is a province in southeastern Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which bears its name. The population is 1,845,667 (2014). The ...

. Birecik is just at the east of the bridge and Nizip is to the west.

Project and construction

Up to 1956, travel between Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa was difficult, for all vehicles had to transfer to primitive ferries over the Fırat River. The bridge project was one of the major projects of Turkey in the 1950s. The awarded company was Amaç Ticaret Türk AŞ. The governmental inspection was carried out by the General Directorate of Highways. The construction began in August 1951 and the bridge was completed in March 1956.

Details

The length of the bridge is and it is wide with on each side reserved for pedestrians. There are five arches over the river and fourteen sections over the land. At the time of its completion, it was the third longest bridge in Turkey, after the

Karkamış Bridge The Karkamış Bridge ( tr, Karkamış Köprüsü) is a Parker-truss bridge carrying the Baghdad Railway across the Euphrates in southeastern Turkey. The bridge was built by the Baghdad Railway between 1911-13 in the Ottoman Empire and played an ...

and Uzunköprü Bridge.The list

One of the Turkey's top 50 civil engineering projects

Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers lists Birecik Bridge as one of the fifty civil engineering feats in Turkey, a list of remarkable engineering projects realized in the first 50 years of the chamber.The list

References

{{Bridges in Turkey Birecik District Buildings and structures in Şanlıurfa Province Road bridges in Turkey Bridges completed in 1956 Crossings of the Euphrates Bridges over the Euphrates River