First signs for Istanbul's third bridge put on roads

Construction on the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, the third suspension bridge over the Bosporus, is continuing at full speed with direction signs having been placed on link roads on the Asian side of the city. The signs guiding to Edirne on the European side will be placed next week. A greater part of viaducts on the roads, the construction of which is continuing at the same speed as that of the bridge, has also been completed and 24 out of 59 steel bridge floors have been installed on the bridge. A total of 80 out of 176 curved suspension ropes, which will be one of the load-bearing elements of the bridge, have been strung. The construction of a catwalk, which will be used to string the bridge's main cable, has been completed while the paving of its highway has gathered pace.

The 59-meter-wide bridge is poised to be the widest bridge in the world when it is completed. The bridge, which has a length of 1,408 meters over the water, has eight lanes and two rail lines.

The construction, which was started by IC İçtaş-Astaldi JV using a build-operate-transfer model on May 29, 2013, is going as planned and is estimated to be completed in January 2016.