UPDATE ‘Canakkale Bridge to become longest of its kind’

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM TURKISH PRESIDENT; REVISED HEADLINE, DECK; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Havva Kara Aydin and Erdogan Cagatay Zontur

CANAKKALE, Turkey (AA) - With the construction of Canakkale 1915 Bridge, Turkey realizes centuries' dream, said the Turkish president on Saturday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended via videoconference to the ceremony for the placement of the last steel block of 318-meter (1,043-feet) towers of the bridge in the country’s northwestern Canakkale province.

“The [1915 Canakkale] bridge with the title of the longest of its kind in the world, will decorate the strait as a symbol of our 1915 Canakkale Victory,” Erdogan said.

The bridge is located in the most critical crossing point of the big highway surrounding the Marmara Sea from both sides and its 2,023-meter (6,637-feet) middle span is also an expression of the country’s 2023 targets, he stressed.

“I believe every citizen who will complete the strait trip -- which takes 1.5 hours by ferry -- in six minutes through this bridge, will graciously remember those who earned this work to our country,” he added.

- Basaksehir City Hospital to open on May 21

Referring to the country's health investments, Erdogan said the second part of the Basaksehir City Hospital -- with its first part opened earlier -- will be opened via a videoconference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on May 21.

He stressed the importance of strong infrastructure and transportation saying the country’s success in it will be the biggest advantage in a world which will be reshaped politically and economically after the coronavirus.

Erdogan also shared the features of the bridge on Twitter saying the total length of the bridge will be 3,563 meters (11,689 feet) and it will leave behind the world’s longest bridge -- the Akashi-Kaikyo bridge linking the city of Kobe and Awaji Island in Japan.

The six-lane bridge will become the world's largest middle span bridge with its distance between the towers, and the total highway length will be 352 kilometers (over 218 miles).

The project will cost 10.5 billion Turkish liras ($1.5 billion), the president noted.

Turkey on Saturday completed 32 tower blocks of 1915 Canakkale Bridge, which will be put into service on March 18, 2022.

The suspension bridge will have the largest central span in the world.