Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge (in Turkish: Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü, F.S.M. Köprüsü or 2. Boğaziçi Köprüsü), is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: Boğaziçi). The bridge is named after the 15th century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who took Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 and ended the Byzantine Empire. The bridge carries the , and 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 is hanging 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. Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge had the 6th longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1988. At present, it has the 15th longest suspension bridge span in the world.

Construction

The bridge was designed by Freeman Fox & Partners and , who had previously also designed the Bosphorus Bridge. An international consortium of three Japanese companies (including IHI Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), one Italian 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...
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