Road works lead to jams
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Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 23, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Istanbul residents who expected the sprawling metropolis’ traffic to ease up once schools closed for summer break have been dealt a major disappointment.
Maintenance work on some major routes that began Sunday night led to long hours of traffic deadlock, particularly on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge during Monday rush hour traffic.
Commuters using Istanbul's two Bosphorus bridges have been stranded on the roads for hours due to the work on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, which has two lanes closed on each side.
In a written statement, the Highways Directorate announced it would begin work on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge on June 20 that will last until July 31.
The bridge, one of two that crosses the Bosphorus, will be strengthened as part of a seismic-retrofitting project. At every stage of the process, two lanes will be closed to traffic on the four-lane bridge.
Maintenance work
Due to heavy use of the two Bosphorus bridges, traffic jams are a normal occurrence in the large connecting areas on both the European and Asian sides of the city. Other parts of Istanbul will also see maintenance work being carried out on roads and traffic is expected to flow slowly in those areas.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Yakup Dost, manager of the 17th region of the Highway directorate, said work on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge might be completed earlier than planned. He said the traffic caused on the bridge might have been because commuters were unaware of the roadworks.
He said they would open further lanes on the bridge depending on traffic flow. The seismic retro-fitting on the bridge was essential and had to be carried out, he said
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality also issued a statement Monday that said this particular period was chosen because traffic flow was expected to be lower because schools had closed. It asked commutters to use alternative routes wherever possible in all areas where roadworks were being carried out.
Commuters using Istanbul's two Bosphorus bridges have been stranded on the roads for hours due to the work on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, which has two lanes closed on each side.
In a written statement, the Highways Directorate announced it would begin work on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge on June 20 that will last until July 31.
The bridge, one of two that crosses the Bosphorus, will be strengthened as part of a seismic-retrofitting project. At every stage of the process, two lanes will be closed to traffic on the four-lane bridge.
Maintenance work
Due to heavy use of the two Bosphorus bridges, traffic jams are a normal occurrence in the large connecting areas on both the European and Asian sides of the city. Other parts of Istanbul will also see maintenance work being carried out on roads and traffic is expected to flow slowly in those areas.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Yakup Dost, manager of the 17th region of the Highway directorate, said work on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge might be completed earlier than planned. He said the traffic caused on the bridge might have been because commuters were unaware of the roadworks.
He said they would open further lanes on the bridge depending on traffic flow. The seismic retro-fitting on the bridge was essential and had to be carried out, he said
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality also issued a statement Monday that said this particular period was chosen because traffic flow was expected to be lower because schools had closed. It asked commutters to use alternative routes wherever possible in all areas where roadworks were being carried out.