Turkey collects over $133M for highways, bridges


Turkey has collected TL 356 million ($133 million) from tolls from the two bridges over the Bosporus and highways in the first five months of 2015, official figures revealed. According to data released by the Turkish General Directorate of Highways, the Bosporus Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, which connect Europe with Asia, yielded TL 92 million while toll highways yielded TL 263 million. Over 103 million vehicles paid the toll in January, out of which around 92 million vehicles crossed the bridges. Turkey collected $350 million from the two bridges over the Bosporus and toll roads in 2014 after more than 399 million vehicles used them. Traffic jams are one of the biggest problems for the country's most populated city of Istanbul. The government is working to solve the problem with third bridge over the Bosporus, which is under construction and is expected to be completed in 2015.