A highly-ambitious construction project is promising to deliver some respite to hundreds of thousands of commuters in Istanbul — a metropolis of some 17 million people, infamous for its bumper-to-bumper traffic.
The Marmaray tunnel is being touted as the first trans-continental tunnel, linking Istanbul’s European side to its Asian one by cutting across the Bosphorus Strait.
Right now the only way to cross is by using one of two vehicular bridges, or by waterway.
The tunnel will connect to Istanbul’s underground commuter trains and locals hope it will help ease congestion on the roads.
“Everyone knows that traffic in Istanbul is congested,” said Murat Tekin, a taxi driver who spends an estimated five hours stuck in traffic every work day.
“Going from one place to another takes a very long time, even between short distances.”
The tunnel, known as Marmaray, is 13.6 kilometres in length and will transport over one million commuters per day between continents in four minutes, according to its website, One news informs.
