| İzmit Bay Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Official name | İzmit Körfez Köprüsü |
| Carries | Motor vehicles |
| Crosses | Sea of Marmara |
| Locale | İzmit, Turkey |
| Design | Suspension |
| Total length | 2,800 m (9,186 ft) |
| Longest span | 1,550 m (5,085 ft) |
| Construction begin | 2011 |
| Construction end | 2015 |
| Opened | 2015 |
| Toll | $35 |
| Daily traffic | 35,000 vehicles per week (at least) |
The İzmit Bay Bridge is a planned suspension bridge located at the eastern end of the Sea of Marmara, close to İzmit and approximately 50 kilometers from Istanbul, Turkey. It will be one of the largest suspension bridges in the world by length of central span. Construction and operation of the bridge has been awarded to a Joint Venture formed by five Turkish(Nurol, Ozaltin, Makyol, Yuksel, Gocay) and one Italian construction company(Astaldi) following the international Built-Operate-Transfer tender that took place in April 2009.[1] As of 2010[update] the contract was signed for the project that is estimated to cost $11 billion USD for the whole highway from Gebze to Izmir and construction is expected to be completed in 2017.
The $1 billion privately financed bridge will connect the northeastern and southeastern coast of the Sea of Marmara, significantly reducing regional travel time. Crossing the Bay of İzmit, the bridge (and connecting highway) will provide 3 lanes of traffic in either direction. The total length of the bridge will be about 3.0 kilometers. At present, the largest suspension bridge of the world is the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, in Japan.