İstanbul's Bosphorus Bridge to be closed to traffic three nights straight

İstanbul's July 15 Martyrs Bridge, colloquially known as the Bosphorus Bridge or the First Bridge, will be closed to traffic between 1 am and 5 am from Aug 3 to 5, the İstanbul Governor's Office has announced.

The closure will affect only crossings from the European to the Asian side, while the opposite direction will remain open.

The bridge is among the three bridges linking the two continents in the metropolis, alongside the Eurasia Tunnel underwater crossing.

The closure is for the filming of an episode of the docuseries "Asırlık Gece" (A Night Worth of a Century), broadcast by the state broadcaster TRT. The series is about the 2016 coup attempt, and its first episode was aired on Jul 15, the 10th anniversary of the putsch.

The bridge became a symbolic site on the night of the coup attempt, as some officers and cadets blocked it to traffic at the beginning of the putsch. Dozens of people protesting the coup were later killed there by gunfire from helicopters, and the bridge was subsequently renamed to honor them.

Traffic flow will be diverted to alternative routes as part of the arrangement implemented to ensure filming can be carried out safely, the governor's office said. It urged drivers to plan their travel accordingly to avoid any inconvenience. (VK)