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| Europe |
| Turkey to build Bosporus tunnel |
| 2004-05-10 |
| Sunday, May 9, 2004 Posted: 11:53 PM EDT (0353 GMT) ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched the construction of a tunnel and rail system under the Bosporus straight to connect Europe and Asia in this heavily congested metropolis. At a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday, Erdogan stood in a line with other officials and shoveled dirt, giving the go-ahead for the 13.7 kilometer, (8.5 mile) tunnel. Some 1,400 meters of the tunnel will be underwater. The Bosporus Strait, a 32-kilometer waterway connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, separates European Turkey from Asian Turkey. It bisects Istanbul as it flows by historic Ottoman castles, mosques and parkland. The tunnel would become the third link between the city’s European and Asian sides. A first bridge -- at 1,074 meters, one of the world’s longest suspension bridges -- linked the two continents in 1973. The second, 60 meters shorter, opened five kilometers north of the first in 1988. "This project is important not only for Turkey, it is at the same time the project of the century," Erdogan said. The tunnel, which officials insist would be earthquake-proof, will run under the sea at a depth of around 55 meters. The tunnel would be linked to an expanding subway system. The entire project, which also involves refurbishing Istanbul’s existing rail system, will cost $2.5 billion. The tunnel is being built with loans from the Japan Bank of International Cooperation. A Japanese-Turkish consortium, Taisei-Kumagaigumi-Gama-Nurol, won the contract for the project that is expected to be completed by 2008. Erdogan, a former mayor of Istanbul, had long advocated the construction of an undersea Bosporus tunnel, opposing plans for a third bridge over the Bosporus, which critics have said could destroy precious green space and promote car traffic to the detriment of public transportation. But just last week, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim did not rule out the possible construction of a third bridge. "Istanbul is in need of a bridge and in time, will need another tunnel. They are not alternatives to each other," Yildirim said. "Earthquake-proof," maybe, but does anyone else think this is going to be a prime terror target, or what? I can only suppose they’re hoping the war on terror will be over by the time they finally finish the project in 2008. Otherwise, they’re gonna need hella security. |
| Posted by:Zenster |
| #5 if olive oil is made from olives, what is baby oil.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-05-10 9:00:52 PM |
| #4 If tin whistles are made of tin, what're fog horns made of? |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-05-10 8:41:00 PM |
| #3 If a Channel Tunnel is a Chunnel, is a Black Sea Tunnel a Blunnel? |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-05-10 4:10:36 PM |
| #2 mojo's right on the money....it's merely a factor of what level (magnitude) of quake you're willing to fund a design/construction for.... anything above an 8, or on a major fault, is a crapshoot |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-05-10 3:58:10 PM |
| #1 Nothing built by man is "earthquake-proof", folks. Sorry. That's one of the more active faults, too. Good luck with the underwriters... |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-05-10 3:53:03 PM |