Mehmet Y. Yilmaz: A third Bosphorus bridge
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Is there anyone left in Istanbul who doesn't think we need a third bridge over the Bosphorus? Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim has said that people who are calling for a third bridge not to be built over the Bosphorus are treating Istanbul unfairly. But from his statements, it is clear that Yildirim has not actually read of the great volume of debate on this matter. He seems to think that objections to the plans for another bridge are actually based on the idea of a third bridge itself. But no, that's not it. In fact, everyone knows that two bridges crossing the Bosphorus are not enough for as enormous of a city as Istanbul actually is.
The real problem concerns how much the bridge to be built will actually help solve the current complications we are facing.
And the other issue is how we can build another bridge without disrupting or ruiing the city's natural and historical makeup.
Both the Prime Minister and the Transportation Minister are insistent that the third bridge be built over the northernmost end of the Bosphorus, and that it "serve transit traffic."
All you need to do to understand that such a bridge would not actually help this city's traffic problems is to take a glance at current numbers of cars crossing over the two existing bridges.
The "transit traffic" that these two men are talking about is not even 2% of the total traffic on our bridges.
These are figures which both the Prime Minister and the Transportation Minister have easy access to.
The Transportation Minister also insists that permission will not be given for the third bridge to destroy this city's last forest area and underground water supplies. It's as though he imagines the bridges will be built somewhere else, and then helicoptered in at the final moment to put them into place!
My final words on the matter for today: I am not saying that a third bridge should not be built in Istanbul. But whatever bridge is built needs to be done on the condition that it relieves traffic conditions in Istanbul. It should be a bridge that includes a metro line. And it needs to be a bridge which is connected with transportation lines that already exist, or that are currently under construction, in the city.