Osmangazi bridge being an important part of the Gebze-Orhangazi-İzmir Highway will decrease 9-hour transition time to 3,5 hours between Istanbul and Izmir. The bridge has come into service by a ceremony with the participation of the President, Prime Minister and Minister of Transport. The 2-hour transition time will be 4 minutes thanks to the bridge which is the fourth suspension bridge with greatest central span around the world.
The government decreased VAT from 18% to 8% for the transition fee of bridges built by build-operate-and transfer model to provide a cheaper fee for the bridge. In this way, transition fee will be 10% cheaper for both Osmangazi and Yavuz Sultan Selim which has been building for a while. Minister Arslan stated that the fee will be 89 TL. The project has been undertaken by Nurol, Makyol, Özaltın, Astaldi and Göçay. Oğuz Çarmıklı, the chairman of Otoyol A.Ş. consisting of joint enterprise of these groups said “we try to do our best to finish Istanbul- Izmir Highway”. He has also added that they will finish the 25 km. Gemlik-Bursa part of the highway in a short time.