Turkey Completes 19th-Century Dream Of An 8-Mile Tunnel To Europe

10-29-2013 • http://www.businessinsider.com, Ayla Jean Yackley,

The engineering feat spans 13 km (8 miles) to link Europe with Asia some 60 meters below the Bosphorus Strait. Called the Marmaray, it will carry subway commuters in European's biggest city and eventually serve high-speed and freight trains.

"The Marmaray project unites...the continents of the historic Silk Road," Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said ahead of the opening, which coincides with the 90th anniversary of the founding of the modern Turkish Republic.

The 5.5 billion lira ($2.8 billion) tunnel is one of Erdogan's "mega projects," an unprecedented building spree designed to change the face of Turkey.

They include a 50-km canal to rival the Suez that would render half of Istanbul an island, an airport that will be the world's busiest and a giant mosque atop an Istanbul hill.