Bosphorus Bridge

The idea of a bridge crossing the Bosphorus dates back to antiquity. The Greek writer Herodotus says in his Histories that, on the orders of Emperor Darius the Great of the Achaemenid Empire (522 BC–485 BC), Mandrocles of Samos once engineered a pontoon bridge across the Bosphorus, linking Asia to Europe; this bridge enabled Darius to pursue the fleeing Scythians as well as position his army in the Balkans to overwhelm Macedon. The first modern project for a permanent bridge across the Bosphorus was proposed to Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire by the Bosphorus Railroad Company in 1900, which included a rail link between the continents. ==Construction==

The decision to build a bridge across the Bosphorus was taken in 1957 by Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. For the structural engineering work, a contract was signed with the British firm Freeman Fox & Partners in 1968. The bridge was designed by the British civil engineers Gilbert Roberts, William Brown and Michael Parsons, who also designed the Humber Bridge, Severn Bridge, and Forth Road Bridge. David B Steinman, an American engineer who had recently designed the Mackinac Bridge was also contracted, but died early on in the design process in 1960. Construction started in February 1970 and ceremonies were attended by President Cevdet Sunay and Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel. The bridge was built by the Turkish firm Enka Construction & Industry Co. along with the co-contractors Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company (England) and Hochtief AG (Germany). The bridge was completed on 30 October 1973, one day after the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey, and opened by President Fahri Korutürk and Prime Minister Naim Talu. The cost of the bridge was US$200 million ($ in dollars). Upon the bridge's opening, it was often defined by the media as the first bridge between Asia and Europe since the pontoon bridge of Xerxes in 480 BC. That bridge, however, spanned the Hellespont (Dardanelles) strait to the southwest of the Bosphorus, across the Sea of Marmara, and was in fact the second pontoon bridge between Asia and Europe after an earlier one built by Darius the Great across the Bosphorus strait in 513 BC. ==Operation and tolls==

The bridge highway is eight lanes wide. Three standard lanes, one emergency lane and one pedestrian lane serve each direction. Between 1999 and 2006, some of the toll booths (#9 - #13), which were located to the far left as motorists approached them, were unmanned and equipped only with a remote payment system (Turkish: OGS). In addition to the OGS system, another toll pay system with special contactless smart cards (Turkish: KGS) was installed at specific toll booths in 2005. Toll payments in cash were stopped on 3 April 2006. Between 2006 and 2012, toll booths accepted only OGS or KGS. An OGS device or KGS card could be obtained at various stations before reaching the toll plazas of highways and bridges. In 2006, the toll was 3.00 TL or about $2.00. Since April 2007, a computerised LED lighting system of changing colours and patterns, developed by Philips, illuminates the bridge at night. On 17 September 2012, the KGS system on the Bosphorus Bridge was replaced by the new HGS system (Turkish: Hızlı Geçiş Sistemi), which also replaced the OGS system a decade later, on 31 March 2022. In 2017, the toll increased by nearly 50% from 4.75 to 7 TRY. After 21 months, in late 2019, the toll went up another 20% to 10.50 TRY. Tolls need to be increased almost every year to keep up with high producers' price inflation. File:Bosphorus Bridge.jpg|Since April 2007, a computerized LED lighting system, capable of changing colors and patterns, illuminates the bridge at night. File:The Bosphorus Bridge (8425286568) edited.jpg|Daytime view of the Bosphorus Bridge File:15 Temmuz Şehitler Köprüsü Anadolu Yakası.jpg|RFID tolls of the HGS system == Notable events ==

and the historical peninsula of Istanbul from the Bosphorus Bridge The bridge was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 1000 lira banknotes of 1978–1986. Since 1979, every October, the annual Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon crosses the bridge on its way from Asia to Europe. During the marathon, the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic. and the Bosphorus Bridge On 15 May 2005 at 07:00 local time, U.S. tennis star Venus Williams played a show game with Turkish player İpek Şenoğlu on the bridge, the first tennis match played on two continents. and the Bosphorus Bridge On 17 July 2005 at 10:30 local time, British Formula One driver David Coulthard drove his Red Bull racing car across the bridge from the European side to the Asian side, then, after turning with a powerslide at the toll plaza, back to the European side for show. While crossing the bridge with his Formula 1 car, Coulthard was picked up by the automatic surveillance system and charged with a fine of 20 Euros because he passed through the toll booths without payment. His team agreed to pay for him. On 15 July 2016, the bridge was blocked by a rogue faction of the Turkish Armed Forces during a coup attempt. They arrested civilians and police officers. The soldiers involved surrendered to police and to civilians the next day. In honor of the victims who were martyred while resisting the coup attempt, a monument, museum and mosque were built on a roadside hill near the Asian (Anatolian) end of the bridge. File:Bosphorus Bridge-1.jpg|Daytime view of the bridge File:Boğaziçi Köprüsü - Aerial view.jpg|Aerial view of the bridge File:E6 1.000 TL arka yüz.jpg|The bridge on the reverse of the 1000 lira banknote (1978–1986) == See also ==