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Third bridge opens over Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul

Xinhua, August 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Turkey on Friday opened the third bridge over the Bosphorus Strait, making it easier to travel between Istanbul's Asian and European parts.

"We are connecting the continents," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the inauguration of the bridge named after 16th-century Ottoman Sultan Yavuz Sultan Selim known for his conquests in the Middle East.

The bridge, at a cost of nearly 3 billion U.S. dollars, is 59 meters wide with eight road lanes and two rail tracks, making it the widest suspension bridge in the world.

It is also the longest as it extends 1.4 kilometers.

"It will not only serve Istanbul but also serve every journey in the historic Silk Road, starting from the Far East, ending in Europe and bringing civilizations together by connecting people," Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on the occasion.

All trucks and heavy-duty vehicles are to be directed to the new bridge to ease traffic on the old ones and cut congestion and pollution in Istanbul, the Anadolu Agency said.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov and Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov were among the dignitaries attending the opening ceremony, the agency said. Endit