Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Çanakkale 1915 bridge will shorten the crossing time of the Dardanelles Strait to 6 minutes.

This came in a speech, Saturday, during his participation in the ceremony of laying the final surface of the bridge.

Erdogan added: “We will inaugurate the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, on March 18th at the latest, coinciding with the anniversary of the victory in the Çanakkale Bahriya Battle.”

The Turkish president indicated that he will open on the same day a 101 km highway in the state.

He indicated that the value of the investment in the bridge and highway project amounted to 2.5 billion euros, which was launched in 2017.

He explained that with the bridge entering service, the time to cross the Strait of Çanakkale (the Dardanelles) will be reduced to 6 minutes.

And he added: “We are entering a phase in which all land, sea and air lines on 3 continents will start crossing from our country and our straits.”

He pointed out that the height of the “Canaq Qala 1915” bridge is 318 meters and symbolizes the date of March 18 (the day of victory in the Battle of Canak Qala).

He said that the length of the bridge is 2023 meters, which is the year that coincides with the centenary of the founding of the Turkish Republic.

According to Erdogan, 670 engineers, more than 5,000 workers and 740 vehicles participated in the construction of the bridge and highway.

He stressed that the bridge, which has already become one of the country’s most important symbols, “is evidence that we are approaching another step towards our goal of building a great and strong Turkey.”