Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

This article is about the bridge in Istanbul. For the bridge in Edirne, see Fatih Bridge.

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (1988) in Istanbul, connecting Europe and Asia.
Coordinates
Carries	8 lanes of Motorway
Crosses	Bosphorus strait
Locale	Istanbul
Official name	Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü
Maintained by	Turkish State Highways
Preceded by	Bosphorus Bridge
Characteristics
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)
Clearance above	64 m (210 ft)
History
Designer	BOTEK Bosphorus Technical Consulting Corp. Freeman Fox & Partners
Construction begin	1986
Construction end	July 3, 1988
Statistics
Toll	OGS, HGS
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge Location in Istanbul

FSM Bridge from Rumelihisarı (European side)

The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge ("Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Bridge"), also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge (in Turkish: Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü, F.S.M. Köprüsü or 2. Köprü), is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: Boğaziçi). When completed in 1988, it was the 5th-longest suspension bridge span in the world; today it is the 19th.

The bridge is named after the 15th-century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who conquered the Byzantine capital, Constantinople (Istanbul), in 1453. It carries the European route E80, Asian Highway 1, Asian Highway 5 and Otoyol 2 highways.

Location

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 hangs 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.

Construction

The bridge was designed by Freeman Fox & Partners and BOTEK Bosphorus Technical Consulting Corp., who had previously designed the Bosphorus Bridge. An international consortium of three Japanese companies (including IHI Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), one Italian (Impregilo) 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, becoming the first to cross. The cost of the bridge amounted to US$130 million.

Transportation

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, to westbound traffic. Pedestrians are not allowed to use the bridge. Currently, around 150,000 vehicles pass daily in both directions; almost 65% are automobiles.

Toll collection

Panoramic view at dusk from the Asian side

Fatih Sultan Mehmet is a toll bridge, but payment is required only from vehicles travelling to Asia (as in the First Bosphorus Bridge, no payment is required while passing from Asia to Europe.) Since April 2008, cash payments are no longer accepted, having been replaced by a remote payment system. In addition to OGS, the contactless smart sticker HGS system is in use.

An OGS device or HGS sticker can be obtained at various stations before the toll plaza of highways and bridges.

Panoramic view of the Bosphorus strait, with the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge at right.

See also

• Bosphorus Bridge, also called the First Bosphorus Bridge.
• Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, also called the Third Bosphorus Bridge, currently under construction.
• Eurasia Tunnel, undersea tunnel, crossing the Bosphorus for vehicular traffic, currently under construction.
• Marmaray, transcontinental rail tunnel under the Bosphorus.
• Public transport in Istanbul
• Turkish Straits

References

• Design and Construction Stages of Fatih Sultan Mehmed Bridge, ITU

External links

• Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge at Structurae
• Google aerial image of bridge
• 3D-model ″Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge″ for Google Earth