The story of Osmangazi Bridge

Before this bridge, crossing the Gulf of İzmit took 2 hours; now it takes 6 minutes. Stretching between Dil Point at Dilovası and Hersek Point at Altınova, the Osmangazi Bridge has a main span of 1,550 metres and a total length of 2,682 metres, making it the world's fourth-longest-span suspension bridge. The tender published in early 2008 even included two railway lines on the deck, but they were dropped from the plan that August.

Some 8000 workers built it. On 21 March 2015 one of the guide cables known as the "catwalk" snapped; the Japanese engineer Kishi Ryoichi, who held himself responsible, called the accident a matter of honour and took his own life. The bridge was inaugurated at a ceremony on the evening of 30 June 2016 and opened to traffic on 1 July 2016. It cost 1.48 billion dollars.

With the whole motorway complete, the average 8-hour İstanbul-İzmir journey fell to 3.5 hours. As you cross, look up at the cables strung between the two headlands.