Eurasia Tunnel

Eurasia Tunnel
Overview
Official name Avrasya Tüp Tüneli
Location Bosphorus strait, Istanbul, Turkey
Coordinates 41°00′17″N 28°59′41″E / 41.00472°N 28.99472°E / 41.00472; 28.99472Coordinates: 41°00′17″N 28°59′41″E / 41.00472°N 28.99472°E / 41.00472; 28.99472
Status Under construction
Start Kazlıçeşme
End Göztepe
Operation
Work begun 26 February 2011
Opened 20 December 2016
Owner Ministry of Transportation, Maritime and Communication
Operator Avrasya Tüneli İşletme İnşaat ve Yatırım A.Ş. (ATAŞ)
Character Undersea, double-deck tunnel
Toll 4$+VAT (Katma Değer Vergisi)
Technical
Length 5.4 km (3.4 mi)
Number of lanes 2 x 2
Operating speed 70 km/h (43 mph)
Eurasia Tunnel
Location of Eurasia Tunnel in İstanbul, Turkey.

The Eurasia Tunnel (Turkish: Avrasya Tüp Tüneli) is a road tunnel under construction in Istanbul, Turkey, crossing the Bosphorus strait undersea. The project's completion is expected by December 2016 with the opening planned on December 20, 2016.[1]

The 5.4 km (3.4 mi) double-deck tunnel will connect Kazlıçeşme on the European and Göztepe on the Asian part of Istanbul on a 14.6 km (9.1 mi) route.[2] It will cross the Bosphorus beneath the seabed, with the aim to alleviate Istanbul’s traffic pressure.[3][4][5] It is at about 1 km (0.62 mi) south of the undersea railway tunnel Marmaray, which was opened on 29 October 2013.[6] With this new route, the journey time between Kazlıçesme and Göztepe will be shortened from 100 minutes to 15 minutes.[1][2][4][7]

Background

The conceptual background of Eurasia Tunnel reaches back to the findings of the Transportation Master Plan undertaken by Istanbul University on behalf of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 1997. Based on this plan, a pre-feasibility study had been conducted in 2003 for a new Bosphorus crossing. According to the results of this study, a road tunnel was recommended as the solution that offers the highest feasibility.[1][8]

The Ministry of Transportation, Maritime and Communication of Turkey has commissioned a feasibility study to Nippon Koei Co. Ltd. in 2005 for an assessment of route alternatives for a new tunnel crossing. Based on environmental and social criteria and cost and risk factors, the study has supported the proposed route as the preferred option.

The two current bridges have also been taken into consideration in selecting the tunnel’s location, which enables a balanced distribution in Bosphorus crossings. Among other selection criteria, lowest investment cost due to a shorter tunnel length and sufficient space for construction sites and operational buildings (toll plaza, administrative units) have also stood out. High level assessments based on corridor alternatives that are comprehensively defined in the feasibility study also support the selection of the proposed route in terms of environmental and social costs and risk factors.

Investors

Avrasya Tüneli İşletme İnşaat ve Yatırım A.Ş. (ATAŞ) was founded on 26 October 2009 by the partnership of Yapı Merkezi from Turkey and SK E&C from South Korea.[1][8]

The build–operate–transfer model adopted at the Eurasia Tunnel, has brought together the private investment dynamism and their project experience, and the support of international financial institutions.[1][8] The total duration of concession is 30 years and six months. The handling over is scheduled to be by April 2043.[1]

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supplying a finance package worth US$150 million. Other components of the US$1.245 billion financing package include a $350 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and financing and guarantees from Export-Import Bank of Korea and K-Sure, also with participation from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered, Mizuho Bank, Türkiye İş Bankası, Garanti Bank and Yapı ve Kredi Bankası. A hedging facility for the transaction is provided by some of the lenders as well as Deutsche Bank.[1]

Project segments

The project comprises three main segments:

European side

Construction of five U-turns as underpasses and seven pedestrian crossings as overpasses along Kennedy Street that stretches between Kazlıçeşme and Sarayburnu as a shoreline road along the Sea of Marmara's coastline. Widening of the entire Segment 1, which is approximately 5.4 km (3.4 mi), from 3x2 lanes to 2x4 lanes.[1][5][8]

Bosphorus crossing

The construction of a 5.4 km (3.4 mi), two-deck road tunnel with two lanes on each deck, a toll plaza and an administrative building on the western end and ventilation shafts on both ends of the tunnel.[1][5]

Asian side

Widening from 2x3 and 2x4 lanes to 2x4 and 2x5 lanes along an approximately 3.8 km (2.4 mi)-stretch of the current D100 road that links at Göztepe to Ankara-İstanbul State Highway, and construction of 2 bridging intersections, 1 overpass and 3 pedestrian bridges.[1][5]

Technical details

For the design of the project the American firms Parsons Brinckerhoff and HNTB were responsible while the British Arup Group Limited,[7] and Jacobs Engineering Group from the United States undertook the technical and traffic studies. The geotechnical survey was provided by the Dutch consultancy Fugro.[9] The tunnel boring machine of type TBM was supplied by the German manufacturer Herrenknecht.[10] The French company Egis Group will be in charge of the operation.[1] When completed, the sections 1 and 3 will be operated by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the section 2 by ATAŞ.[1]

The TBM section crossing the Bosphorus is 3.4 km (2.1 mi) long while another 2.0 km (1.2 mi) is constructed by New Austrian Tunnelling method (NATM) and cut-and-cover method. The tunnel's excavation diameter is 13.7 m (45 ft),[10] which allows an inner diameter of 12.0 m (39.4 ft) with 60 cm (24 in)-thick lining.[1][5]

The tunnel is designed to withstand earthquakes of magnitude up to 7.5 on Richter scale under the consideration of maximum safety. The tunnel's lowest depth under the sea level is 106 m (348 ft) while its maximum depth below the seabed is 61 m (200 ft) with an overburden measuring 25 m (82 ft).[2][8] It is planned that the 130 m (430 ft)-long and 1,500-tons-heavy machine will progress daily around 10 m (33 ft) and complete the excavation work in less than one-and-half years.[4]

The tunnel is designed so that it has protected emergency rooms in a distance of 300 m (980 ft) to provide shelter for the elderly and disabled, also escape route to the other tunnel level. Every 500 m (1,600 ft), there will be an emergency lane equipped with emergency telephone.[1]

The ground breaking took place on 26 February 2011.[8] The on-site assembly of the TBM was completed in April 2014 so that tunnel boring could start.[4] It is projected that the construction will last 55 months. Excavation work was initiated by Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 19, 2014.[10]

The speed limit in the tunnel route will be set to 80 km/h (50 mph) while it is reduced to 40 km/h (25 mph) in the U-turn underpasses.[5] A daily average of around 120,000 cars and light vehicles will pass through the tunnel after it has been completed.[7][8] It is estimated that the traffic flow through the tunnel will increase from initially 80,000 vehicles a day up to its maximum capacity of daily 130,000 in 2023 and after.[5]

The toll is planned to be Turkish lira equivalent of US$4.00 plus VAT for cars and US$6.00 plus VAT for minibusses in each direction. The toll rate will change in accordance with US Consumer Price Index.[5]

Criticism

Architects and urban planners have questioned the ability of new roads to relieve transport problems in dense urban environments, damage to sensitive sites from car traffic, lack of transparency, and thorough analysis of the projects impact prior to design. Experts in the İstanbul branches of the Chamber of Engineers and Chamber of Planners question the validity of the claim of traffic relief. They note that the connection will most likely increase traffic congestion in the city centre and also within the historic peninsula. Increased traffic and congestion in the historic city could have detrimental effects on the architectural monuments via pollution and consequent corrosion. Many of the tunnel's vents will exhaust near significant architectural monuments. Europa Nostra, a cultural heritage organisation, believes that the stakeholder engagement process was conducted to meet the requirements for international development funding rather than a genuine desire address stakeholder concerns.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eurasia Tunnel.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Eurasia Tunnel Project" (PDF). Unicredit - Yapı Merkezi, SK EC Joint Venture. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
  2. 1 2 3 "Çift katlı Avrasya Tüneli'nde kazı işlemi devam ediyor". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
  3. ↑ "Avrasya tüneli'nin temeli atıldı". Zaman (in Turkish). 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Dev köstebek boğazın altını delmeye başlıyor". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the Eurasia Tunnel Project Istanbul, Turkey" (PDF). ERM Group, Germany and UK & ELC-Group, Istanbul. January 2011. p. 42. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
  6. ↑ "Marmaray tunnel completed". Railway Gazette. 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
  7. 1 2 3 "Istanbul Strait Tunnel (Eurasia Tunnel)". Arup. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Eurasia Tunnel Project, Istanbul, Turkey". Road Traffic. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
  9. ↑ "Onshore & Offshore Geotechnics - Eurasia Tunnel Project" (PDF). Fugro. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
  10. 1 2 3 "Başbakan Erdoğan, 'Yıldırım Bayezid'le Avrasya Tüneli'ni kazmaya başladı". Radikal (in Turkish). 2014-04-19. Retrieved 2014-04-22.

External links

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