Drilling process for Eurasia Tunnel ends on Saturday

The drilling process of the Eurasia Tunnel project, which crosses underneath the Bosporus strait is about to be completed. With only 20 meters left to dig before the tunnel is completed, the drilling process will finish tomorrow. Moreover, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will visit the construction site to observe the final stage of the digging process.

After the Marmaray Project, which has been called the project of the century, a significant amount of work on the Eurasia Tunnel Project has been completed. The Marmaray is the partially operational rail transportation project in Istanbul, which comprises an undersea rail tunnel under the Bosporus Strait, and the modernization of the existing suburban railway lines along the Sea of Marmara from Halkalı on the European side to Gebze on the Asian side. The Eurasia Tunnel is being constructed to open a new route for cars and vehicles. The drilling process within the undersea tunnel, which was started in April 2014, has continued without slowing down.

The drilling process, which has continued 27 meters below the Bosporus Strait, will end with a ceremony attended by Davutoğlu. After the 5.4-kilometer-long drilling process is completed, the vehicle that conducted the drilling will roll on to land from the bottom of the Bosporus. When this stage, which is regarded as the most difficult part of the project, is completed, the construction process of the tube tunnel will be initiated.

The Eurasia Tunnel Project will provide transport services between Kazlıçeşme on Istanbul's European side and Göztepe on the Asian side. The project will cover a 14.6-kilometer-long route in total and will comprise a two-story undersea tunnel as well as linking tunnels that will be constructed using various methods. Moreover, road expansion and recovery work will be conducted along a 9.2-kilometer-long route in Asia and Europe. When the Eurasia Tunnel is made operational, the journey time on one of the busiest routes of Istanbul will decrease from two hours and 10 minutes to 15 minutes.

Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Feridun Bilgin had announced that 2,124 people were involved in the construction work and 250 construction vehicles were used in the project. Additionally, it was considered worthy of "The Best Environmental and Social Performance Award" by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The project will be put into practice via a build-operate-transfer model and is being constructed with financing amounting to $1.24 billion. The consortium that is building it will manage it for 24 years and five months before handing it over to the public.