Izmit Bay Bridge
Encyclopedia
The İzmit Bay Bridge is a planned suspension bridge
located at the eastern end of the Sea of Marmara
, close to İzmit
and approximately 50 kilometers from Istanbul
, Turkey
. It will be one of the largest suspension bridges in the world by length of central span. Construction and operation of the bridge has been awarded to a Joint Venture formed by five Turkish(Nurol, Ozaltin, Makyol, Yuksel, Gocay) and one Italian construction company(Astaldi) following the international Built-Operate-Transfer tender that took place in April 2009. the contract was signed for the project that is estimated to cost $11 billion USD for the whole highway from Gebze to Izmir and construction is expected to be completed in 2017.
s of traffic
in either direction. The total length of the bridge will be about 3.0 kilometers. At present, the largest suspension bridge of the world is the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, in Japan
.
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
located at the eastern end of the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
, close to İzmit
Izmit
İzmit is a city in Turkey, administrative center of Kocaeli Province as well as the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. The city center has a population of 294.875...
and approximately 50 kilometers from Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. It will be one of the largest suspension bridges in the world by length of central span. Construction and operation of the bridge has been awarded to a Joint Venture formed by five Turkish(Nurol, Ozaltin, Makyol, Yuksel, Gocay) and one Italian construction company(Astaldi) following the international Built-Operate-Transfer tender that took place in April 2009. the contract was signed for the project that is estimated to cost $11 billion USD for the whole highway from Gebze to Izmir and construction is expected to be completed in 2017.
Design
The $1 billion privately financed bridge will connect the northeastern and southeastern coast of the Sea of Marmara, significantly reducing regional travel time. Crossing the Bay of İzmit, the bridge (and connecting highway) will provide 3 laneLane
A lane is a part of the roadway within a road marked out for use by a single line of vehicles in such a way as to control and guide drivers for the purpose of reducing traffic conflicts. Most public roads have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each direction, separated by Lane markings...
s of traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
in either direction. The total length of the bridge will be about 3.0 kilometers. At present, the largest suspension bridge of the world is the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.