Twenty years ago, a second bridge connected Asia and Europe in Istanbul

Istanbul/Prague - 20 years ago, on July 3, 1988, the second bridge connected the European and Asian parts of Istanbul. The Sultan Mehmet Fatih Bridge over the Bosphorus Strait is 1,510 meters long and its construction cost 130 million dollars. The bridge, located about five kilometers north of the first Bosphorus bridge, was inaugurated by then-President Turgut Özal when he drove across it.
    The bridge, named after Sultan Mehmed II Fatih (who reigned from 1451 to 1481), is situated between the districts of Hisarüstü on the European side and Kavacik on the Asian side. It is a suspension bridge with steel pylons, and the roadway is situated 64 meters above sea level, allowing even the largest ships to pass underneath it. The toll is charged for entry, with eight lanes available in both directions. Over 150,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily, of which 65 percent are cars. The bridge was designed by Freeman Fox & Partners, and constructed by a consortium of three Japanese firms, one Italian firm, and one Turkish firm. Pedestrians are prohibited from accessing the bridge; however, hundreds of suicides have already occurred from it into the Bosphorus.
    The Bosphorus is a 29-kilometer long and nearly four kilometers wide strait that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and divides Istanbul into its European and Asian parts. The first suspension bridge (the Bosphorus Bridge) connected both parts over a length of 1,074 meters in October 1973. In May 2004, construction began on a third connection between Asia and Europe in Istanbul, an underwater road and rail tunnel. It is planned to be 13.7 kilometers long (of which approximately 1,400 meters will be 55 meters deep under water) and is expected to be completed in 2012.