The World's Longest Suspension Bridge Commemorates World War One

The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge
Viewed from the European Side of the Strait

In researching our recent article on the memorial to Turkish war hero Corporal Seyit, for the first time, I stumbled across the full name of the new bridge across the Dardanelles. In English, it's  the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge.  Seeing that name for the first time made it clear that the project was connected to the war—1915  being the year of the Dardanelles and the city of  Çanakkale (18  miles southwest of the bridge) being the command post for what Turkish historians consider the decisive event of the Dardanelles/Gallipoli extravaganza, the naval assault of 18 March 1915. The bridge's connection to the war, however, go far beyond its name. Symbolism reflecting the Turkish nation and naval victory has been designed into both the appearance and structure of the bridge.

Location, 18 miles NE of Çanakkale

First, though, some details about this impressive construction effort. A bridge was proposed first in the 1990s, again in 2012, and in 2014, it was placed in the Turkish government's future transportation projects list. In September 2016, the government officially launched the suspension bridge building project. The contract was awarded to a consortium containing Turkish and South Korean companies. The bridge and approaches are 15,118 feet long, and there are 6,637 feet  (2023 meters) between the two towers. The distance between the towers exceeds the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan by 105 feet, making the 1915 Çanakkale the world's longest suspension bridge in the world. It's 148 feet wide, allowing for six lanes of traffic and maintenance sidewalks. It's intended to carry 45,000 vehicles each day.

Six-Lane Roadway

As mentioned, symbolism was designed into the bridge. Its colors, red and white, match those of the Turkish flag. The length of the bridge's main span (2,023 meters) refers to the centennial of the Turkish Republic (1923–2023). More interesting are the references to the Great War including,  the number 1915 in the name, the height of the intersection point of the main cable at 318 meters (month and day of the naval battle, 18 March). Furthermore, the dedication and opening of the bridge were on 18 March 2022, an anniversary of the battle. Still in the works is the installation of four 20-meter tall replicas of the artillery shells the mighty Corporal Seyit personally delivered to his gun on the day  of the battle.