Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced that the Eurasia Tunnel was passed 123 million times by 7 million users in 7 years and contributed $1.5 billion to the country’s economy.
In his written statement, Uraloglu reminded that the official opening of the Eurasia Tunnel was held on December 20, 2016.
Uraloglu stated that calculations were made by taking into account the Kozyatagi-Bakirkoy corridor from the tunnel that provides undersea passage between the European and Asian continents in Istanbul. “The Eurasia Tunnel, which has been passed 123 million times by 7 million users in 7 years, saved its users 172 million hours of time, 218 thousand tons of fuel, 91 thousand tons of emission reduction and 492 million vehicle/kilometer accident cost savings. Thus, the tunnel’s contribution to the country’s economy has reached $1.5 billion since the day it started operating.”
Fast, economical and safe
Uraloglu noted that the Eurasia Tunnel, with its high technology, advanced engineering holistic project and route connecting the continents, serves as a fast, economical, safe, comfortable and environmentally friendly transportation alternative for the Bosphorus crossing and relieves Istanbul traffic.
Uraloglu, who informed that the Eurasia Tunnel Project, which connects the Asian and European sides of Istanbul with a 5-kilometer double-decker undersea road tunnel, was built on a 14.6-kilometer route, continued as follows:
“Thanks to the project, transportation distances on this route with heavy traffic were shortened by approximately 10 kilometers, and travel times, which were previously up to 100 minutes, were reduced to 15 minutes. Within the scope of the project, the approach roads on the European and Asian sides were widened and intersections, vehicle underpasses and pedestrian overpasses were built. Motorcycles, cars and minibuses can pass through the tunnel, which is designed to be used only by light vehicles.”
It will produce its own energy
Uraloglu stated that they continue to work on commissioning the solar power plant (SPP) in the operation and maintenance building and the Asian ventilation and transformer buildings within the framework of the Eurasia Tunnel’s innovative perspective on sustainability. He stated that the electricity needs of the Eurasia Tunnel data centers will be met with the annual production of the SPP, which is designed with optimum panels and high-tech inverters.
Emphasizing that they attach importance to passenger and driving safety in the tunnel, Uraloglu said, “The traffic flow in the tunnel and approach roads is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by the operators working in the control room. Necessary protection plans for emergencies were prepared and defined to the Central Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA). Systems such as energy, ventilation, lighting, traffic signs, radio announcements and access control operate automatically in integrity. Unusual situations such as accidents and vehicle malfunctions are detected with more than 400 cameras and automatic event detection systems.”
Responding to emergencies in under 2 minutes
Uraloglu noted that in emergencies, expert emergency teams intervene in less than 2 minutes with motorcycles specially produced for the tunnel structure and equipped with fire extinguishing equipment.
Stating that the extraordinary events that may occur in the tunnel have been determined under 26 main scenario headings to address the responsibilities of institutions, Uraloglu said:
“Inter-institutional coordination continues with 13 successful joint exercises and periodic meetings to date. The Eurasia Tunnel was completed in 3 years and 11 months, 8 months ahead of schedule. The project successfully achieved many firsts during the construction process and opened a new era in the field of tunneling in the world. The project was deemed worthy of 14 awards, including 5 international construction awards, as a result of careful examination of various criteria by the most respected organizations in its field.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz