Public-private venture: Turkey opens the world’s largest suspension bridge to link Asia with Europe

The Çanakkale 1915 Bridge, the world’s longest midspin suspension bridge, costing over 3 billion Euros, was opened for the public  traffic on February 20 this month, however, the official opening is not until the March 18.

Built on the Danial Pass, the 4.6km long-bridge will provide an important link between Europe and Asia. At present, it takes hours to reach Daniel Pass by boat or ferry but this bridge will cover this distance in six minutes. Completed in 2017, it is only now that it is being opened for the traffic.

The main span of the Canakkale Bridge or the distance between the two supporting poles is 2023 meters, which makes it the tallest suspension bridge in the world.

Built by the ‘public-private partnership’ at the cost of 3.1 billion euros, the project is part of Turkey’s Vision 2023 .It was initially estimated that the bridge would be completed at a cost of 2.8 billion euros, but an outbreak of the corona virus increased the cost by 300 million euros.

Its red and white towers reflect the Turkish national flag and are 334 meters long, the tallest suspension tower in the world, primarily attributed to the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915 during World War-I.

The bridge was jointly built by South Korean and Turkish companies and would be Turkey’s fourth bridge connecting Asia and Europe. It will help to considerably speed up the journey, avoid congestion and further improve gateway to Europe.