Great Istanbul Tunnel

Under construction road/rail tunnel under the Bosphorus

Great Istanbul Tunnel
Overview
Official name	Büyük İstanbul Tüneli
Location	Istanbul, Turkey
Status	Under construction
Start	Gayrettepe, Şişli, Istanbul
End	Küçüksu, Beykoz, Istanbul
Operation
Work begun	2018^[1]
Opened	2028^[2]
Owner	Ministry of Transportation, Maritime and Communication
Traffic	Road-rail
Technical
Length	6.5 km (4.0 mi)

The Great Istanbul Tunnel (Turkish: Büyük İstanbul Tüneli) is an under-construction multi-use highway and railway undersea tunnel in Istanbul, Turkey to cross the Bosphorus strait. It will be the third and the longest tunnel crossing the Bosphorus strait, at a length of 6.5 km, surpassing the Eurasia Tunnel at 5.4 km and the Marmaray Tunnel at 13.5 km.^[1]

Project

The project was officially announced by Prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on 27 February 2015.^[3]^[4] The tunnel, 6.5 km (4.0 mi) in length and 18.80 m (61.7 ft) in diameter, will consist of three levels, two levels for road traffic and one level for metro lines. It will be 110 m (360 ft) under the sea level.^[5] Situated between Gayrettepe on the European side and Küçüksu on the Asian side,^[5] it will integrate the highways between the three airports of the city, Istanbul Atatürk Airport, Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Istanbul Airport, and the nine metro lines of the Istanbul Metro.^[4] The cost of the project will amount to US$3.5 billion. The financing of the construction will be on the build–operate–transfer basis.^[6]

Construction

The RV Fugro Scout, a Singapore-flagged research/survey vessel of 83 m (272 ft) length and 20 m (66 ft) beam,^[7] started soil survey works in Bosphorus on 28 July 2017 in order to determine the exact tunnel route.^[8] Construction began in 2018, and was expected to be completed by 2023.^[1] Due to some issues in land acquisition, the project is now expected to be completed by 2028.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "The Great Istanbul Tunnel – The Fastest Road In The World". Lale Group. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b Smart, Belinda (12 May 2023). "'World's longest' underwater tunnel under construction in Istanbul and scheduled to open in 2028". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
^ "İstanbul'a 3 katlı tüp geçit!". Habertürk (in Turkish). 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
^ ^a ^b "3 Katlı Büyük İstanbul Tüneli". CNN Türk (in Turkish). 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
^ ^a ^b "İstanbul'a 3 katlı dev tünel". Posta (in Turkish). 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
^ "İstanbul'a 3 katlı tüp geçit". Milliyet (in Turkish). 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
^ "Fugro Scout". Marine Traffic. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
^ Aksoyer, Ali (2017-07-28). "Büyük İstanbul Tüneli için ilk adım". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2017-07-29.