Turkey earns $55M+ from roads, bridges in 2019

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey earned 293.8 million Turkish liras ($55.4 million) in toll fees from two bridges on the Istanbul Strait as well as toll roads in the first two months of 2019, official figures showed on Thursday.

The July 15 Martyrs' Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge -- both spanning the Bosphorus and connecting Europe and Asia -- together yielded around 67.5 million liras ($12.7 million) in since January, according to data released by Turkey's Highways Directorate.

The country's highway tolls income also reached almost 226.3 million liras ($42.7 million) between January and February, the data showed.

The figures said over 66.8 million vehicles paid tolls to use these roads and bridges during this period.

Drivers in Turkey pay 8.75 liras (roughly $1.60) for crossing over these bridges, with higher fees for vehicles with more than two axles.

Last year, nearly 463.44 million vehicles used Turkey’s toll bridges and roads, paying a total of nearly 2.2 billion liras ($450.1 million).