Turkey earns $162M in bridge, highway tolls

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey earned over 570.1 million liras (some $162 million) in tolls collected at its two bridges on the Istanbul Strait as well as toll roads in the first five months of the year, Turkish Highways Directorate reported Wednesday.

The July 15 Martyrs' Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, both spanning the Bosphorus and connecting Europe and Asia, together yielded 149.2 million liras ($44.2 million), while toll highways throughout Turkey reaped almost 421 million liras ($119.2 million) from January to May, according to the data.

The figure showed that almost 160 million vehicles went through the toll booths in the same period.

In May, over 37 million vehicles used Turkey’s bridges and highways, paying a total of 131.3 million Turkish liras ($37.2 million).

Drivers in Turkey pay 7 Turkish liras ($1.98) for bridge tolls, with higher fees for vehicles with more than two axles.

Last year, 417 million vehicles used Turkey's toll bridges and roads, paying a total of 1.2 billion Turkish liras ($320.43 million). The bridge toll at that time was 4.75 Turkish liras ($1.56) per passage.