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The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge () is a road
suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...
in the province of
Çanakkale Çanakkale is a city and seaport in Turkey on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. It is the seat of Çanakkale Province and Çanakkale District.Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. Situated just south of the coastal towns of
Lapseki Lapseki (from Greek language, Greek: :el:Λάμψακος, Λάμψακος, ''Lampsakos'') is a town in Çanakkale Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Lapseki District.Gelibolu Gelibolu is a town in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara Region, located in Eastern Thrace in the European part of Turkey. It is located on the southern shore of the Gallipoli, peninsula named after it on the Dardanelles strait, away from Lapsek ...
, the bridge spans the
Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
, about south of the
Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...
. The bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world—with a main span of , the bridge surpasses the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (1998) in Japan by . The bridge was officially opened by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...
on 18 March 2022 after roughly five years of construction. It is the centrepiece of the planned O-6 motorway, which will connect the O-3 and O-7 motorways in
East Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...
to the O-5 motorway in
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
. The year "1915" in the official Turkish name honours an important Ottoman victory in the Gallipoli campaign comprising an unsuccessful Entente naval attack followed by invasions of the
Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
peninsula by the forces of Australia, New Zealand, France, and Great Britain, on 25 April 1915 and a second in August; the Entente land forces failed to make significant progress and were evacuated at the end of that year. The bridge is the first fixed crossing over the Dardanelles and the sixth one across the
Turkish Straits The Turkish Straits () are two internationally significant waterways in northwestern Turkey. The Straits create a series of international passages that connect the Aegean and Mediterranean seas to the Black Sea. They consist of the Dardanelles ...
, after three bridges over the
Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...
and two tunnels under it.


Design and cost

The bridge's tender project was designed by Turkey-based Tekfen Construction and Installation and detailed designed by Denmark-headquartered COWI A/S and by Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants (PEC) in South Korea (for cable design and approach bridge design packages only). UK-headquartered
Arup Group Arup Group Limited, trading as Arup, is a British multinational professional services firm headquartered in London that provides design, engineering, architecture, planning, and advisory services across every aspect of the built environment. ...
and Norway-based Aas-Jakobsen participated in the project as Independent Design Verifiers (IDV). The Administrator consultants are Tekfen and Switzerland-based T-ingénierie. The total length of the bridge is and together with the approach viaducts the length reaches , which surpasses the total length of the Osman Gazi Bridge and its approach viaducts by , to become the longest bridge of any type in Turkey. The height of the bridge's two towers is , making it the tallest bridge in Turkey, surpassing
Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (), also known as the Third Bosphorus Bridge'','' is a vehicular bridge over the Bosphorus strait, to the north of Istanbul's two older suspension bridges, the 15 July Martyrs Bridge being the First Bosphorus Bridge ...
, and the third tallest structure in the country. Internationally, the bridge is the second tallest bridge in the world, surpassing the Pingtang Bridge in China. The deck of the bridge is high and wide, with a maximum thickness of . The deck carries six lanes of motorway (three in each direction), together with a walkway on each side for maintenance. According to President Erdoğan, the bridge cost 2.5 billion euros (2.7 billion US dollars) to build, but would save €415 million ($458 million) per year from a reduction of fuel consumption and carbon emissions.


History

Proposals for a bridge spanning the
Dardanelles Strait The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
have existed since the 1990s. A bridge was proposed again in 2012 and went on to be placed in the Turkish government's future transportation projects list in 2014. In September 2016, the government officially launched the bridge building project. Bids for the contract to construct the bridge were made in 2017. The contract was awarded to a consortium containing Turkish companies
Limak Holding Limak Holding A.S. is a Turkish conglomerate, with major interests in construction, energy, cement, and tourism. Its assets include the Limak Cement and Limak Energy companies and the Limak Tourism Group. In 2022, it had around $2.5 billion reve ...
and Yapı Merkezi and South Korean companies DL Holdings and SK Ecoplant. Construction began in March 2017. The bridge was initially scheduled for completion in September 2023, and later brought forward to March 2022. On 16 May 2020, the second tower was completed, on the
Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
side (European coast). By 13 November 2021, all block decks were installed. The toll bridge opened for traffic on 18 March 2022 with a toll price of 200
lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...
(€6.78).


Symbolism

Some symbolic figures are associated with the bridge: * the number 1915 in the name, * the height of intersection point of main cable (318 m), * and the opening date (18 March), are all related to the date of the Ottoman naval victory, on 18 March 1915, during the naval operations in the Gallipoli campaign. Meanwhile, the length of the bridge's main span (2,023 metres) refers to the
centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
of the Turkish Republic (1923–2023).


Gallery

File:Çanakkale 1915 Bridge construction March 2020 2.jpg, Western tower, March 2020 File:Çanakkale 1915 Bridge construction March 2020 1.jpg, View from European side to Asian side, March 2020 File:Çanakkale 1915 Bridge construction June 2021 1.jpg File:The Dardanelles Bridge 1915 Çanakkale Bridge 1915 Çanakkale Köprüsü, Dardanelles strait, south of the Sea of Marmara, Turkey (51971973068).jpg, The bridge near completion File:Çanakkale 1915 Bridge.webm, A video from the bridge in March 2022 File:1915 Çanakkale Bridge Commemorative Coin.jpg, 1915 Çanakkale Bridge Commemorative Coin File:1915 Çanakkale Köprüsü 2.jpg,
Lapseki Lapseki (from Greek language, Greek: :el:Λάμψακος, Λάμψακος, ''Lampsakos'') is a town in Çanakkale Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Lapseki District.Osman Gazi Bridge * Istanbul Canal *Other crossings of the
Turkish Straits The Turkish Straits () are two internationally significant waterways in northwestern Turkey. The Straits create a series of international passages that connect the Aegean and Mediterranean seas to the Black Sea. They consist of the Dardanelles ...
: **
Bosphorus Bridge The Bosphorus Bridge (), known officially as the 15 July Martyrs Bridge () and colloquially as the First Bridge (), is the oldest and southernmost of the three suspension bridges spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: ''Boğaziçi'') in Ist ...
** Eurasia Tunnel, undersea tunnel, crossing the Bosphorus for vehicular traffic, opened in December 2016 **
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge ("Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Bridge"; , abbreviated as ''F.S.M. Köprüsü''), also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge (), is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: ''Boğaziçi'') ...
** Great Istanbul Tunnel, a proposed three-level road-rail undersea tunnel ** Marmaray Tunnel, undersea rail tunnel connecting the Asian and European sides of Istanbul **
Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (), also known as the Third Bosphorus Bridge'','' is a vehicular bridge over the Bosphorus strait, to the north of Istanbul's two older suspension bridges, the 15 July Martyrs Bridge being the First Bosphorus Bridge ...
** Xerxes' Pontoon Bridges, an ancient attempted crossing at a similar location (480 BC)


Notes


References


External links


Official websiteÇanakkale 1915 Bridge
at Daelim web site {{Supertall 2022 establishments in Turkey Bridges completed in 2022 Buildings and structures in Çanakkale Province Cross-sea bridges in Asia Cross-sea bridges in Europe Dardanelles Gallipoli Peninsula Gelibolu District Lapseki District Road bridges in Turkey Suspension bridges in Turkey Toll bridges in Turkey Transcontinental crossings Transport in Çanakkale Province