| Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge | |
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Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, connecting Europe (left) and Asia (right). |
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| Official name | Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü |
| Carries | Motorway O-2 |
| Crosses | Bosphorus strait |
| Locale | Istanbul |
| Maintained by | Turkish State Highways |
| Designer | Freeman Fox & Partners |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 1,510 m (4,950 ft) |
| Width | 39 m (128 ft) |
| Height | 105 m (344 ft) |
| Longest span | 1,090 m (3,580 ft) |
| Vertical clearance | 64 m (210 ft) |
| Construction begin | 1986 |
| Construction end | July 3, 1988 |
| Toll | OGS, KGS |
| Preceded by | Bosporus Bridge |
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FSM Bridge
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The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge (in Turkish: Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü, F.S.M. Köprüsü or 2. Boğaziçi Köprüsü), is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: Boğaziçi). The bridge is named after the 15th century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who took Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 and ended the Byzantine Empire. The bridge carries the European route E80, Asian Highway 1 and Otoyol 2 highways.
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The bridge is situated between Hisarüstü (European side) and Kavacık (Asian side). It is a gravity-anchored suspension bridge with steel pylons and vertical hangers. The aerodynamic deck is hanging 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 road level is 105 m. The clearance of the bridge from sea level is 64 m. Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge had the 6th longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1988. At present, it has the 15th longest suspension bridge span in the world.
The bridge was designed by Freeman Fox & Partners and BOTEK Bosphorus Technical Consulting Corp., who had previously also designed the Bosphorus Bridge. An international consortium of three Japanese companies (including IHI Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), one Italian and one Turkish company (STFA) carried out the construction works. The bridge was completed on July 3, 1988 and opened by Prime Minister Turgut Özal who drove his official car by himself as the first to pass. The cost of the bridge amounted to USD 130 million.
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 only to westbound. No pedestrians are allowed to use the bridge. Nowadays, around 150,000 vehicles are passing daily in both directions, almost 65% being automobiles.
The bridge is a toll bridge, and a toll plaza with toll booths is situated before the bridge on the European side. Toll is paid for one way passing from the European side to the Asian side. Since 1999, some of the toll booths, located to the far left as motorists approach them, are unmanned and equipped only with remote payment system (Turkish: OGS) in order to enable fast through passing. In addition to OGS, another toll pay system with special contactless smart cards (Turkish: KGS) was put in service for use at specific toll booths in 2005.
From April 27, 2008 on, cash toll payment on the bridge is not possible any more. All passers have to pay toll electronically. OGS device or KGS card can be obtained at various stations before the toll plaza of highways and bridges.[1]