Otoyol 30 ( en, Motorway 30), also known as the Izmir Beltway ( tr, İzmir Çevreyolu) and abbreviated as the O-30, is a long
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
that runs around the
Gulf of Izmir
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
from
Balçova
Balçova (pronounced Balchova), is a district of Izmir Province in Turkey. It is one of the eleven districts in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Izmir, the smallest in terms of area. Balçova is a fully urbanized at the rate of 100,0 per cent an ...
to
Menemen
Menemen is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey and its central town. The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River. Adjacent districts are, from east to west; Aliağa and Foça to the north and ...
. The motorway acts as a bypass for through-traffic around the city and connects to four other motorways;
O-5,
O-31,
O-32 and
O-33. For most of its route, the O-30 runs along the perimeter of
Izmir, but enters urbanized areas in
Balçova
Balçova (pronounced Balchova), is a district of Izmir Province in Turkey. It is one of the eleven districts in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Izmir, the smallest in terms of area. Balçova is a fully urbanized at the rate of 100,0 per cent an ...
,
Bornova
Bornova is a metropolitan district of Ä°zmir in Ä°zmir Province in Turkey. It is the third largest district in Ä°zmir's Greater Metropolitan Area of and is almost fully urbanized at the rate of 98.6 percent, with corresponding high levels of devel ...
,
Karşıyaka
Karşıyaka () is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the Gulf of İzmir. Its centre is at a distance of to the north from the traditional cen ...
and
Çiğli
Çiğli (''Silleon'' in Greek) is a metropolitan district of İzmir in western Turkey. It covers the northern end of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality around the mouth of the River Gediz, across the Gulf of İzmir from the main city. The Gediz delt ...
. The entire motorway has six lanes (three in each direction) and is a part of the
E87 and
E881.
The first section of the O-30 opened to traffic in 1993 with the most recent section opened in 2008.
History
Construction of the O-30 was started in 1988 in order to relive traffic on the congested
D-550, which was the only direct north–south road at the time. Along with relieving inner-city congestion, the O-30 was planned to be a connecting hub for two other motorways under construction at the time. The first section of the motorway was opened to traffic on 12 December 1993, between Karabağlar and Işıkkent.
[İzmir-Aydın ve İzmir Çevre Yolu İnşaatı, Abdullah Bizden, p. 26] This long section provided an alternate route around the city from
Gaziemir
Gaziemir is a district of Ä°zmir Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is one of the metropolitan districts of Greater Ä°zmir, and is situated to the south of central Ä°zmir ( Konak) on the road into town. Ä°zmir Adnan Menderes Internatio ...
(south Izmir) to
Bornova
Bornova is a metropolitan district of Ä°zmir in Ä°zmir Province in Turkey. It is the third largest district in Ä°zmir's Greater Metropolitan Area of and is almost fully urbanized at the rate of 98.6 percent, with corresponding high levels of devel ...
(east Izmir) as well as connecting to the
O-31, which opened its first section on the same day. Construction of the O-30 slowed down over the next years, due to financial difficulties. Construction of the southern half of the O-30 progressed faster than construction of the northern half. On 10 July 1997, the O-30 was connected to the
D-300, which was the main east–west trunk road and on 15 August 1998, the long section between Karabağlar and Uzundere was opened to traffic. In 1999, connection to the Izmir Bus Terminal was opened on the 10 April, followed by the long section between Uzundere and Balçova, which was opened on 30 April. The motorway was finally connected to the
O-32 on 6 August 2002, via a viaduct through
Balçova
Balçova (pronounced Balchova), is a district of Izmir Province in Turkey. It is one of the eleven districts in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Izmir, the smallest in terms of area. Balçova is a fully urbanized at the rate of 100,0 per cent an ...
, thus completing the southern half of the O-30.
Due to the slow progression of its northern half, the O-30 was nicknamed ''the motorway that will never open'' ( tr, Açılmaz otoyol) and residents of Izmir started to protest the delay.
Izmir Beltway is expanding further
/ref> Construction was sped up in 2006 and in January 2007 the section between Bornova and Karşıyaka
Karşıyaka () is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the Gulf of İzmir. Its centre is at a distance of to the north from the traditional cen ...
along with two tunnels was opened. Construction progressed at a steady pace over the next years as the O-30 was extended from Karşıyaka to Çiğli on 15 June 2008.
Exit list
See also
* List of highways in Turkey
The three types of intercity roads in Turkey
• Motorways are controlled-access highways that are officially named ''Otoyol''. But it isn't uncommon that people in Turkey call them ''Otoban'' (referring to Autobahn) as this types of roads ent ...
References
{{Otoyols in Turkey
30
Transport in Ä°zmir Province