Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, known also as the Second Bosphorus Bridge, is the second hanging bridge that connects the European and Asian coasts of Istanbul . The bridge is named after Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror , who opened Constantinople in 1453 and ended the Byzantine Empire.

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

Function / usage                                      Motorway / Freeway

Crosses                                                    Bosphorus strait

Locale                                                      Istanbul, Turkey

Design                                                     Suspension bridge

Designer                                                  Bosphorus Technical Consulting Corporation, Freeman Fox & Partners

Total length                                             1 510 m

Width                                                      39 m

Height                                                     105 m

Longest span                                           1 090 m

Vertical clearance                                    64 m

Material                                                   Steel

Construction begin                                   1986

Construction end                                      July 3, 1988

Second Bosphorus Bridge is 1 510 m in length between Hisarüstü (European side) and Kavacık (Asian side). The bridge carries the E80, AH1 and O-2 highways. Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge is on the Trans-European Motorway (E80). The highway bridge has four lanes for vehicular traffic plus one emergency lane in each direction. Nowadays, around 150 000 vehicles are passing daily in both directions. The deck is hanging on double vertical steel cables and has a 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.

The bridge was designed by Freeman Fox & Partners and Bosphorus Technical Consulting Corporation, who had previously also designed the Bosphorus Bridge. Construction of the bridge started in 1985 and it was completed and opened on July 3, 1988. The cost of the bridge amounted to USD 130 million.