Turkish PM Inaugurates Drilling for Eurasia Tunnel

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has attended the inauguration ceremony for the Eurasia Tunnel Project in Istanbul.

The Eurasia tunnel is to connect the Asian and European sides of Istanbul via a road tunnel going under the Marmara Sea.

During the ceremony, the Turkish Prime Minister announced that the tunnel would shorten the 100-minute cross-strait journey time to 15 minutes, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

He pointed out that the tunnel boring machine would advance by 10 meters a day from the Asian to the European side of the city.

Erdogan explained that the completion of the Eurasia Tunnel would provide a total of four road crossings between the two continents, the three others being the Bosphorus Bridge, the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and the Marmaray Tube Passage.

The Eurasia Tunnel, whose foundations were cast on February 26, 2011, will be 14.6km long and will only service light vehicles such as cars and minibuses.

The tunnel will not be accessible for trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians.