Written by Madhav, a grade 10 student

The Turkish government constructed the world’s largest bridge. It is located in northwestern Turkey and is called the Çanakkale Bridge.

Here’s more about it 

• The construction of the Çanakkale Bridge was started in March 2017 and its deadline was in 2023.
• However, the project has finished in June 2022.
• The name Çanakkale Bridge 1915 is a symbol of World War I struggles that Turkey faced at the time. At that time Turkey had to fight naval attacks from England and France. This bridge serves as a memory of that triumph.
• It cost $2.8 billion to make

Importance 

• The bridge connects part of  Turkey to Europe and Asia and hence will divert traffic from the bridges connecting Asia and Europe in Istanbul.
• It will also serve as a tourist attraction as many tourists will visit this part of Turkey to cross into Asia or Europe.
• This will also reduce the number of intersections and lead to fewer accidents.
• This is one of the most important trade routes and will open new avenues for trade.

The design

• Two enormous 318-meter towers are found on either side of the strait and start a strong foundation of the bridge.
• It’s a suspension bridge, which means the road is suspended by the two towers and the high towers have been anchored to lead to a stable road for this bridge which is around 2 kilometres long.
• There are two 59,000-tonne piers that are 40 meters below the surface to provide more stability.
• Such a design helps the bridge remain high so that the largest ships in the world can cross through it

This is a big achievement for Turkey as it helps them get to move closer to becoming a more developed nation.

Also Read: Interesting Facts About the ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’

Headline image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/1915_%C3%87anakkale_Bridge%2C_October_2021.png
Attribution: Odo Puiu Events YouTube Channel, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons