ANKARA, March 19 (BNA) The Turkish President, South Korean Prime Minister and other officials inaugurated today, Friday, a huge suspension bridge over the Dardanelles Strait linking the European and Asian shores of the main waterway, the Associated Press reported. .
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that with a length of 2,023 meters (6,637 feet) between its towers, the “1915 Canakkale Bridge” has become the longest suspension bridge in the world.
It connects Gelibolu town on the European side of Canakkale province in northwestern Turkey, and Labski town on the Asian side. The president said the bridge allows travelers to cross the Dardanelles Strait – which connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara – in just six minutes compared to the previous hour and a half by ferry.
“Turkey has overtaken Japan, which has the longest bridge in the world in terms of medium range, and occupied the first place,” Erdogan said during the opening ceremony.
The opening was timed to coincide with the 107th anniversary of Turkey’s naval victory in World War I over the combined British and French fleet that attacked the Dardanelles. The failure of the naval campaign led to the ill-fated 1915 landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula by the Allies led by Britain and France along with forces from Australia and New Zealand.
“The 1915 Canakkale Bridge will leave this history of collision and conflict behind and will be a bridge between East and West, beginning a new era of peace and prosperity,” South Korean Prime Minister Kim Bo-kyeom said during the ceremony, referring to the historical battlefields of Canakkale region.
Kim said the bridge, set up by a consortium of Turkish and South Korean companies, will strengthen ties between Turkey and South Korea.
Erdogan said the construction of the “1915 Canakkale Bridge” would cost 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion), but Turkey would save 415 million euros ($458 million) annually from reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions. He announced that the bridge’s toll would be 200 Turkish liras ($13.60).
The architecture of the bridge is full of symbolism. Erdogan said the central area is 2,023 meters (6,637 feet) in celebration of 2023, when Turkey will celebrate the centenary of the founding of the Turkish Republic after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The bridge’s towers are 318 meters (1,043 feet) high – a reference to March 18 (or 3/18) when Turkey commemorates soldiers killed during the sea and land battles of Gallipoli.
The Gallipoli Campaign in World War I aimed to secure a sea route from the Mediterranean to Istanbul through the Dardanelles, and to bring the Ottoman Empire out of the war. The Gallipoli Landings on April 25, 1915 marked the beginning of a fierce eight-month battle. About 44,000 Allied soldiers and 86,000 Ottoman soldiers were killed in the fighting
AOQ