July 15th Martyrs Bridge (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality)

Turkey / Istanbul / Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
 road bridge, 1973_construction, suspension bridge

July 15th Martyrs Bridge. Old name is The Bosphorus Bridge (Turkish: Boğaziçi Köprüsü), also known as the First Bosphorus Bridge, is a suspension bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus Strait. The bridge is located between Ortakoy (on the European side) and Beylerbeyi (on the Asian side). It is a gravity anchored suspension bridge with steel pylons and inclined hangars. The aerodynamic deck is hanging on zigzag steel cables. It is 1,510 m (4,954 ft) long with a deck length of 39 m (128 ft). The main span is 1,074 m (3,524 ft) and the towers' height is 169 m (544 ft). The clearance of the bridge from sea level is 64 m (210 ft).

After a group of soldiers took control and partially closed off the bridge during the military coup d'etat attempt on 15 July 2016, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced on 25 July 2016 the decision of the Cabinet of Turkey that the bridge will be formally renamed as the 15 Temmuz Şehitler Köprüsü (July 15th Martyrs Bridge) in memory of those killed while resisting the attempted coup.

The decision to build a bridge across the Bosphorus Strait was made in 1957. Construction on the Bosphorus Bridge started on February 1970 and the bridge opened on October 30, 1973. Freeman Fox and Partners was in charge of the structural engineering work. The bridge was designed by Sir Gilbert Roberts and William Brown. The construction was carried out by Enka Construction and Engineering Company, along with the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company. 35 engineers and 400 men worked on the bridge's construction. The cost of the bridge was $200,000,000.

The Bosphorus Bridge has eight lanes, with each direction having three lanes for vehicular traffic plus one emergency lane and one sidewalk. Around 180,000 vehicles pass the bridge on both directions. The Bosphorus Bridge is a toll bridge. A toll plaza with 13 booths is situated near the bridge on the Asian side. A $2,00 toll is charged for passing from Europe to Asia, but not for passing in the reverse direction. Since April 2007, a fully computerised LED system of changing colours and patterns illuminated the bridge at night.

The Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon starts from the Anatolian part of Istanbul, crosses the Bosphorus on the bridge, and ends in the European part. The Bosphorus Bridge was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 1000 lira banknotes of 1978-1986.
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Coordinates:   41°2'44"N   29°2'3"E
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