Gönül Bridge ( tr, Gönül Köprüsü), also known as Cunda Bridge ( tr, Cunda Köprüsü) is a long solid-arch bridge that crosses the Ayvalık Bay in

Ayvalık Ayvalık () is a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkey. It is a district of Balıkesir province. The town centre is connected to Cunda Island by a causeway and is surrounded by the archipelago of Ayvalık Islands, which face ...

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

. The bridge connects mainland

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

Lale Island Lale Island (literally "Tulip Island", also called ''Dolap Island'') is an Aegean Island of Turkey. In the antiquity it was called ''Kremydonisi'' ( el, Κρεμμυδονήσι and Κρομμυδονήσι). It is part of Ayvalık ilçe (distri ...

, which in turn connects to

Cunda Island __NOTOC__ Cunda Island, also called Alibey Island, ( tr, Cunda Adası, Alibey Adası), Greek Moschonisi ( gr, Μοσχονήσι or Μοσχόνησος), is the largest of the Ayvalık Islands archipelago in Turkey, which was historically ...

via the

Ayvalık Strait Bridge The Ayvalık Strait Bridge ( tr, Ayvalık Boğaz Köprüsü), also known as 15 Eylül Bridge, is a bridge crossing the Dolap Strait in Ayvalık, Balıkesir Province, western Turkey. It connects Cunda Island with Lale Island and, by extension, the ...

. The bridge replaced a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

, built in 1964, in order to open up natural water flow into the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

. Construction of the bridge started on 6 June 2016 and was expected to be complete by 6 December 2016 at a cost of $2.8 million (

₺ The lira ( tr, Türk lirası; Currency sign, sign: ₺; ISO 4217, ISO 4217 code: TRY; abbreviation: TL) is the official currency of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. One lira is divided into one hundred ''kuruş''. History Ottoman lira (1844–1923) ...

10 million). However, due to geological problems, the opening was delayed by four months and the cost increased to $4.2 million (₺15 million), with the addition of 277 new bores. The length of the stone bridge will be with a width of and will consist of four stone arches. Along with the two lanes for automobile traffic, the bridge will also include lanes for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

References

{{Bridges in Turkey Bridges in Turkey Buildings and structures in Balıkesir Province Transport infrastructure under construction in Turkey