Türkiye's Public Works and Housing Minister Faruk Nafiz Ozak said the Istanbul-bound lane of the Bolu Mountain Tunnel could be opened to traffic within 10 days, though the government prefers to launch both lanes simultaneously.
Ozak indicated that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and he might inaugurate the Istanbul-Ankara lane by late December or early January, with a possible delay to April or May if officials decide to open both lanes together.
Separately, Ozak said construction of the Black Sea coastal highway is nearly complete, with 536 of its 544 kilometers expected to be finished before year's end. Work on the Tirebolu and Arakli tunnels and the Giresun viaduct will continue past that deadline.
The minister also announced that bids for a third bridge spanning the Istanbul Strait will be solicited in 2007. Companies from Italy, France, China, Britain, and Türkiye have expressed interest. The bridge will be built under a build-operate-transfer arrangement and is projected to take four years to complete.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2006, in its own words.