Turkey to inaugurate fourth-longest suspension bridge

By Arife Yildiz Unal

ANKARA (AA) - A landmark road bridge over the Marmara Sea will open to traffic in Turkey on Thursday, which aims to drastically cut travel time between Istanbul and the country’s western provinces.

Osmangazi Bridge, a 2,682-meter long structure, is said to be the fourth-longest suspension bridge in the world and the second longest in Europe.

The $1.3 billion bridge is named after Osman Gazi, the founder and first sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

The construction of the quake-resistant bridge began in 2010. It is expected to be formally inaugurated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Thursday.

Erdogan and Yildirim have for years championed expanding the country's airport and road facilities in order to achieve better connectivity between provinces.

The bridge lies in the southern shore of the Marmara Sea along the route of the new six-lane Istanbul-Izmir Highway Project, which cost around $6.3 billion.

The 421-kilometer (261.6-mile) long highway will cut the average journey time between Izmir and Istanbul from 10 hours to approximately four hours.

The new bridge and highway will also mean that the drive-time between the country's second busiest Sabiha Airport and the eastern province of the Bursa Province would be less than an hour.

The highway project is being built through a public-private partnership and is the first road project in the country to be procured under the Build-Operate-Transfer model.

Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkish world superstar professional motorcycle racer, will attempt a set new record at the inauguration ceremony.

Sofuoglu will aim to reach 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) per hour on his sports bike.