Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

This article is about the bridge in Istanbul. For the bridge in Edirne, see Fatih Bridge.
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, connecting Europe and Asia
Coordinates41°05′29″N 29°03′43″E / 41.0913°N 29.062°E / 41.0913; 29.062
Carries8 lanes of O-2 (a part of the Trans-European Motorways)
CrossesBosphorus strait
LocaleIstanbul
Official nameFatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü
Other name(s)Second Bosphorus Bridge
Maintained byTurkish State Highways
Characteristics
DesignSuspension bridge
MaterialSteel
Total length1,510 m (4,950 ft)
Width39 m (128 ft)
Height105 m (344 ft)
Longest span1,090 m (3,580 ft)
Clearance above64 m (210 ft)
History
DesignerBOTEK Bosphorus Technical Consulting Corp.
Freeman Fox & Partners
Construction startMarch 29, 1985[1]
Construction endMay 29, 1988[2]
Construction costUS$380,000,000[3]
OpenedJuly 3, 1988[2][4]
Statistics
TollHGS
Location
Map

The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge ("Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Bridge"; Turkish: Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü, abbreviated as F.S.M. Köprüsü), also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge (İkinci Köprü), is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: Boğaziçi). When completed in 1988, it was the 5th-longest suspension bridge span in the world.

The bridge is named after the 15th-century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who conquered the Byzantine capital, Constantinople (Istanbul), in 1453. It carries the European route E80, Asian Highway 1, Asian Highway 5 and Otoyol 2 highways.

Three other bridges that connect Europe and Asia are located in Turkey, which are named Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, 15 July Martyrs Bridge (formerly known as Bosphorus Bridge) and the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge.

Location

The bridge is situated between Istanbul Hisarüstü (European side) and Kavacık (Asian side). It is a gravity-anchored suspension bridge with steel pylons and vertical hangers. The aerodynamic deck hangs on double vertical steel cables. It is 1,510 m long with a deck width of 39 m. The distance between the towers (main span) is 1,090 m and their height over the road level is 105 m. The clearance of the bridge from sea level is 64 m.[2]

Construction

The bridge was designed by Freeman Fox & Partners[5] and BOTEK Bosphorus Technical Consulting Corp.,[6] who had previously designed the Bosphorus Bridge. An international consortium of three Japanese companies (including IHI Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), one Italian (Impregilo) and one Turkish company (STFA) carried out the construction works. The bridge was completed on May 29, 1988, and later opened on June 3, 1988 by Prime Minister Turgut Özal, who drove his official car, becoming the first to cross.[4] The cost of the bridge is estimated to be around US$130 million[citation needed] to 380 million.[3]

Transportation

The bridge is on the Trans-European Motorway between Edirne and Ankara. The highway bridge has four lanes for vehicular traffic plus one emergency lane in each direction. On weekday mornings, commuter traffic flows mostly westbound to the European part, so five of the eight lanes run westbound and only three eastbound. Conversely, on weekday evenings, five lanes are dedicated to eastbound traffic and three lanes, to westbound traffic. Pedestrians are not allowed to use the bridge. Currently, around 150,000 vehicles pass daily in both directions; almost 70% are automobiles.

Toll collection

Fatih Sultan Mehmet is a toll bridge, but payment is required only from vehicles traveling to Asia (as in the First Bosphorus Bridge, no payment is required while passing from Asia to Europe.) Since April 2008, cash payments are no longer accepted, having been replaced by a remote payment system. As of the OGS systems retirement on March 31, 2022, HGS is the only way to access the bridge.

A HGS sticker can be obtained at various stations before the toll plaza of highways and bridges.[7]

As of 2024 the toll fee is 15 to 110 Turkish lira, depending on the type of vehicle.[8]

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and the skyscrapers of Levent (left) and Maslak (right) business districts

See also

References

  1. ^ "30 Mayıs 1985". Milliyet Gazete Arşivi (English: Milliyet Newspaper Archive) (in Turkish). 1985-05-30. Archived from the original on 2011-05-08. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  2. ^ a b c "Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü" (PDF). General Directorate of Highways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  3. ^ a b Dost, Yakup; Dedeoğlu, Erdoğan (2008). "Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsünün Projeleştirilme ve Yapım Aşamaları" [Design and Construction Stages of Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge] (PDF). Istanbul Technical University (in Turkish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25.
  4. ^ a b "4 Temmuz 1988". Milliyet Gazete Arşivi (English: Milliyet Newspaper Archive) (in Turkish). 1988-07-04. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "Freeman Fox & Partners". Structurae. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  6. ^ "Şirket Profili" [Company Profile]. Bosphorus Technical Consulting Corporation (in Turkish). 2010-10-30. Archived from the original on 2010-10-30. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  7. ^ "FSM Köprüsü'nde Nakit Geçiş Kalktı". Haber 34 (in Turkish). 2008-04-25. Archived from the original on 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  8. ^ "KÖPRÜ VE OTOYOL GEÇİŞ ÜCRETLERİ 2024 (YENİ)". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2024-01-02. Retrieved 2024-03-04.