The tunnel’s total length is 5.4 kilometers. Its underwater part is 3.34 kilometers long.
Together with access roads, the Eurasia Tunnel Project’s total distance is 14.6 kilometers. At its deepest point, the tunnel is 106.4 meters below the surface of the Bosphorus Strait.
The tunnel has been designed to withstand a 9 magnitude earthquake.
With the new tunnel, the travel time between the areas by car will decrease from around 100 minutes at present during rush hour to just 15. This will make a positive contribution to the economy by decreasing fuel consumption amounts as well as carbon emission amounts, according to those leading the project.
The Eurasia Tunnel Project was completed by private companies with a total investment of 1 billion 245 million 121 thousand US Dollars.
The project was contracted in 2009 through a joint Turkish-Korean venture later named Eurasia Tunnel Operation Construction and Investment (ATAS). After the completion of the project, the company will run the tunnel for the next 24 years and five months, when the tunnel’s operational rights will be transferred to the state.
Designed for light vehicles, tolls of around $4 for cars and $6 for minibuses are expected to be levied.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that a fee in the amount of 15 Turkish liras will be levied for the use of tunnel until the New Year. This fund will be collected in the fund created for the martyrs and war veterans.
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