| Gönül Bridge | |
|---|---|
Gönül Bridge in August 2017. | |
| Coordinates | 39°20′38″N26°41′04″E / 39.34389°N 26.68444°E Coordinates: 39°20′38″N26°41′04″E / 39.34389°N 26.68444°E |
| Crosses | Bay of Ayvalık |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 300 m (980 ft) |
| Width | 20 m (66 ft) |
| History | |
| Construction start | June 2016 [1] |
| Construction cost | $4.2 million [1] |
| Opened | 15 April 2017 [1] |
| Replaces | Ayvalık-Cunda causeway |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | None |
  Gönül Bridge Location in Turkey | |
Gönül Bridge (Turkish : Gönül Köprüsü), also known as Cunda Bridge (Turkish : Cunda Köprüsü) is a 300 m (980 ft) long solid-arch bridge that crosses the Ayvalık Bay in Ayvalık, Turkey. The bridge connects mainland Anatolia to Lale Island, which in turn connects to Cunda Island via the Ayvalık Strait Bridge.
Turkish, also referred to as Istanbul Turkish, is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around ten to fifteen million native speakers in Southeast Europe and sixty to sixty-five million native speakers in Western Asia. Outside Turkey, significant smaller groups of speakers exist in Germany, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Northern Cyprus, Greece, the Caucasus, and other parts of Europe and Central Asia. Cyprus has requested that the European Union add Turkish as an official language, even though Turkey is not a member state.
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct may be made from a series of arches, although other more economical structures are typically used today.
Ayvalık is a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkey. It is a district of Balıkesir Province. The town center of Ayvalık is surrounded by the archipelago of Ayvalık Islands, which face the nearby Greek island of Lesbos.
The bridge replaced a causeway, built in 1964, in order to open up natural water flow into the Aegean Sea. Construction of the bridge started on 6 June 2016 and was expected to be complete by 6 December 2016 at a cost of $2.8 million (₺10 million). [2] However, due to geological problems, the opening was delayed by four months and the cost increased to $4.2 million (₺15 million), with the addition of 277 new bores. [3]
A causeway is a track, road or railway on top of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Track in the Somerset Levels, England, that dates from the Neolithic age. Timber causeways may also be described as both boardwalks and bridges.
The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the Greek and Anatolian peninsulas i.e. between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosphorus. The Aegean Islands are within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes.
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The length of the stone bridge will be 300 metres (980 ft) with a width of 20 metres (66 ft) and will consist of four stone arches. Along with the two lanes for automobile traffic, the bridge will also include lanes for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. [2]
