New Bosporus crossing construction commencing

Work to construct the new Bosporus crossing in Turkey is now underway. This will be Istanbul's third bridge over the Bosporus and is aimed to open for traffic within two years. Construction is being carried out by a consortium that includes Italian company 1324 Astaldi and Turkish firm 3015 IC Ictas. The project is expected to cost in the region of US$5.83 billion. The bridge will carry eight highway lanes as well as two rail lines. When complete it will be longest suspension bridge in the world that carries rail lines. The project is challenging due to the heavily congested shipping lane through the Bosporus and also due to the geological features which include the risk of earthquakes. When the structure is complete it will be operated by IC Istas-Astaldi under a 10 year concession package.