Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

The Fatih Sultan Bridge, also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge (in Turkish: Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü or 2. Bogaziçi Köprüsü), is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: Bogaziçi). The bridge is named after the 15th century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who conquered Istanbul in 1453 and ended the Byzantine Empire.

Location:

The bridge is situated between Hisarüstü (European side) and Kavacik (Asian side). It is a gravity-anchored suspension bridge with steel pylons and inclined hangers. The aerodynamic deck is hanging on double vertical steel cables. It is 1,510 m long with a deck width of 39 m. The distance between the towers (main span) is 1,090 m (World rank: 12th) and their height over road level is 105 m. The clearance of the bridge from sea level is 64 m. It was the 6th longest suspension bridge in the world when completed in 1988.

Construction:

An international consortium of three Japanese companies, one Italian and one Turkish company carried out the construction. Design work was carried out by Freeman Fox & Partners who also designed the Bosphorus Bridge. It was completed on July 3, 1988 and opened by Prime Minister Turgut Özal who drove his official car by himself as the first to pass. The cost of the bridge amounted to USD 130 million.

More:

Jumping from the bridge is a rather common method to commit suicide. In 2001, 146 persons attempted to jump from the two Bosphorus bridges, and 24 of them lost their lives. In 2002, 38 persons died after 190 suicide attempts by jumping.