Explaining his vision and projects in the new era that will take Bursa forward, Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş reminded that road and intersection works are of vital importance in terms of urban transportation, as well as the projects they carry out on public transportation. Stating that Bursa has a single main transportation axis that starts from Kestel on the east-west line and bifurcates in Acemler and divides into two branches towards Mudanya and Izmir, Mayor Alinur Aktaş said that they have completed the physical infrastructure of the axis with the arrangements made on this axis in the past period, especially in the Acemler region.
NORTHERN CORRIDOR
"Now is the time to realize what has been talked about for years and transform transportation," said Mayor Aktaş, adding that they have created two new corridors, one in the north and the other in the south, as an alternative to a single main axis. Providing information about the details of the northern corridor, Mayor Aktaş said, “With the 11 kilometer long route between Gürsu and 2.3 Eylül Boulevard, vehicles will directly reach 11 Eylül Boulevard without using the Gürsu and Otosansit intersections. We will also create a new 11-kilometer axis between Şirinevler Junction on 9.5 Eylül Boulevard and Istanbul Street. We form one of the most important parts of the northern corridor with the 8.5-kilometer connection road and 8 intersections on the Istanbul Avenue-Yeniceabat-Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Boulevard route. In the third part of the corridor, we connect Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Boulevard directly to the Filament junction via Hamitler, with 3 departures and 3 arrivals. On another route, we connect Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Boulevard to Mudanya Road via Emek-Geçit and Nilüferköy with 6 intersections and a 7-kilometer road. "With our northern corridor project, we provide the opportunity to travel from the east to the west of the city with a brand new route," he said.
SOUTH CORRIDOR
Stating that they will offer the same comfort to the citizens with the 'South corridor' as they will provide in the Northern corridor, Mayor Aktaş said, "Our work to create a new 5.5 kilometer long artery as a divided road between Kestel and Otosansit in the easternmost part, which will be an alternative to Ankara Road, has reached the completion stage. Within the scope of these works, after the bridge and connection roads built on Balıklıdere, we also opened the Türkmenbaşı-Erdoğan Street Connection Road. In the continuation of the first part, we are creating a new 16-kilometer artery between Otosansit and Orhaneli road, which passes through the south of the city, does not disrupt the city silhouette, and will be supported partly by areas obtained through urban transformation applications and occasionally by art structure transitions. From the point where we connect to Orhaneli Road, we are opening a 9-kilometer-long, 3-lane double road on the Çalı-Görükle-Şehir Hospital route to direct heavy vehicle traffic and create an alternative to the Izmir road. We are expanding the 11-kilometer section between Çalı Junction and Hasanağa, which is currently one-way and one-way, as a divided road and transport it to industrial zones and residential areas. We are expanding the 9.5-kilometer road connection between Hasanağa-İzmir Road to 40 meters and making it comfortable with the arrangement of 7 intersections. With the 4.2 kilometer road in the westernmost part of the southern corridor, we directly direct the heavy vehicle traffic originating from Hasanağa OIZ and Kayapa OIZ to the Istanbul-Izmir Highway without affecting urban traffic. "We have already started the process," he said.
TRAFFIC LOAD WILL LIGHTEN
Stating that they will break new ground for Bursa with the two tunnels they will build in these two corridors in the north and south, Mayor Aktaş said, “Our tunnel, which will consist of 5.5 kilometers of tubes in the northern corridor, will start from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Boulevard and go directly to Ata Boulevard. Again, it will be directly connected to the Mudanya road with a branch leaving the area before the Filament Junction within the tunnel. Our tunnel, which will consist of 3 kilometers of tubes in the southern corridor, will start from the Doburca region and rise to the surface from the Çekirge ridge. As a result of all these studies, we are connecting our city, which is located on a single main line, to 3 main lines. Of course, with the connecting roads, Bursa traffic will now be divided into three. "Therefore, in the simplest terms, our traffic load will be approximately 3 times lighter," he said.
