In a sense, Turkey is very "lucky", because any bridge over the Bosporus strait automatically becomes a landmark, connecting Europe and Asia. Another similar significant infrastructure construction has come to an end: a new bridge across the Dardanelles Strait, which will connect the European and Asian parts of Turkey, is being built.
While the Turkish government is undertaking an ambitious infrastructure investment program, some parts of the country are being transformed into new megatons and bridges. The 1915 Chanakkale Bridge is one such project.
The record-breaking bridge is being built in Turkey across the Strait of Dardanelles, the project is planned to be completed by the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey in 2023.
A huge suspension bridge is being formed near the cities of Lapseki in Asia and Helibol in Europe, about 10 km south of the Sea of Marmara. Naturally, the structure is positioned as a global facility to improve transport links between continents.
The most important infrastructure construction was named after the victory of the Turkish Navy in 1915 during the First World War. Some basic features of the project:
The construction is planned for 2017-2023 and should be successfully completed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey;
total length of the bridge 3.7 km, width 43 m, height of two towers 318 m;
the longest central span in the world - 2023 meters;
total budget of the project is $2.8 billion.
The roadway of the bridge will consist of six lanes: three in each direction.
The most complicated engineering structure is being constructed with the help of specialists from many countries - Turkey, Great Britain, Australia, South Korea, Netherlands and others. The height of two main pylons 318 meters is comparable with "usual" skyscrapers.
The bridge under construction will have the longest central span in the world - 2 023 meters This figure again is not accidental, it reminds of the "Turkey Development Project 2023", which is aimed at entering the country into the top ten world economic powers.
Chanakkale 1915 will be the longest suspension bridge in the world, ahead of Japanese Akashi Kaikyo Bridge by 32 meters. Its full length, including access roads, stretches to 4608 meters. The construction of Chanakkale Bridge involves 128,000 tons of steel.
The use of steel elements of the bridge is a strategic partnership between Turkish and South Korean suppliers, and the Turkish company has agreed to supply 35,000 tons of heavy steel plate for tower structures, cable systems and road surface.
The partnership also supplies 52,000 tons of steel plate for the bridge deck and 41,000 tons of steel wire rod for the suspension system that will support it.
As part of the contract, Chimtash Steel will carry out the procurement of materials, manufacture of panels, blocks, trial assembly and delivery to the construction site of 146 tower blocks with a total weight of 36,000 tons and a total tower height of 318 meters.
Unusually, Chanakkale is launched as a "design-assembly" project. Usually, for bridge construction, the design is completed before contractors and suppliers are selected. However, for this project, construction and design are done simultaneously, and coordination between the architect and contractors is required from the very beginning.
Mar Contracting, an Australian crane manufacturing company, has completed an unprecedented engineering achievement by lifting a tower crane of 330 tons, fully assembled on site, to assist in the construction of Turkey's longest suspension bridge in the world.
Unprecedented lifting made it possible to see the Marr M2480D marker, which at 600 tons weighs more than the A380 lifted in one piece - the first time a crane of this size had been lifted in its assembled form.
After being shipped from Sydney in parts to the dry dock in Gallipoli, two Marr 2480D cranes were assembled ashore on specially constructed foundations. On November 3, the first M2480D was lifted and transported one kilometer to the middle of Dardenell (Chanakkale Strait) using a floating heavy barge crane with a lifting capacity of 2200 tons. The second crane was hoisted on November 8, and now both cranes are installed and ready to begin work on the bridge Chanakkale 1915.
The world's first maneuver is the first of many engineering achievements, which will involve Marra tower cranes during the bridge construction.
It took the M2480D about 30 minutes to lift the 155-ton section of the upper cross beam to its 318-metre position at an altitude of 328 meters above sea level. Installation of the central section on the Asian side of Chanakkal strait completed an important milestone in the construction of the bridge, and climbing took place at midnight on Sunday, June 7, 2020. The European side was completed 24 hours later with the final centerpieces installed on both sides of the bridge at a final height of 318 meters on Monday, June 8, 2020.
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