ANKARA
A crucial segment of the world's largest suspension bridge for the Gebze-Izmir Highway Project was lifted into place on Sunday.
The infrastructure project deemed the "Mega Project of Turkey" is also part of the country's largest transportation investment, the Gebze-Izmir Highway Project, which will connect Istanbul to Izmir reducing transportation time from its current nine hours down to 3.5 hours.
With 124 meters in length and a width of 36 meters, the Izmit Bay viaduct segment put in place has stadium size dimensions, and according to officials from Nurol Holdings Inc. responsible for the construction of the project, its size and scale have broken a world record.
The segment containing 2,600 tons of steel used a "Streak Plate Technique" method to lift it up to a height of 57 meters during the opening ceremony on Sunday.
The 3.3 kilometer-long Izmit Bay viaduct will be will be one of the largest suspension bridges in the world and will be 1,123 meters high and weigh 22,500 tons.
The project starting from the town of Gebze to the north of Izmit Bay is part of the Sea of Marmara connecting the waterways between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea and is scheduled to be complete in 2018.
