Turkey’s Latest Mega Project “Eurasia Tunnel” Opens
The overachieving tunnel that connects Europe and Asia from underneath bosphorus was inaugurated with the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, and many Turkish and foreigner guests.
The inauguration address was made by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stating that all revenues from the tolls until December 31st will be deposited into an account for the families of matyrs and veterans.
The new mega project linking Göztepe and Kazlıçeşme reduces the travel time from 100 minutes to only 15 minutes. The tunnel is integrated with the three bridges stretching above bosphorus and will save 52 milllion hours in traffic annually.
Resistant to earthquakes up to 9 magnitude and possible tsunamis, Eurasia Tunnel consists of a single tube with two floors, each floor dedicated to one way. The longest section of the tunnel with 5.4 km, is constructed below the seabed with the latest and unique technology and is designed to be servicable for 100 years.
A total of 9.2 km of road network between Sarayburnu-Kazlıçeşme and Harem-Göztepe has been reconstructed in conjunction with the new tunnel to accommodate for the increase in capacity. The link roads have been extended, intersections and overpasses has been constructed. Adopting the latest technologies, the project is considered one of the best in terms of traffic flow.
The safety measures in the tunnel include high-capacity ventilation, fire suppression system, fire-retardant surface coating, emergency evacuation systems, and shoulders for emergency stopping in every 600 meters. CCTV, real-time feedback and communication systems will enable speed controls at all times. The tunnel can also be utilized as a temporary shelter.
The speed limit in Eurasia Tunnel is 70 km/h, and the fee for one way travel is the Turkish Lira equivalent of $4+VAT for automobiles and $6+VAT for minibuses. Both ways of travel are charged with OGS and HGS automated systems for high speed flow. There are not any tolls to collect fees in cash.
Türk Telekom and Turkcell, leading mobile telecommunication companies in Turkey, are covering the whole of the tunnel, 106 meters below surface, with 4.5G networks.