Ersin Arıoğlu and the eyes of the Eurasia Tunnel

I decided to write a Sunday column today, but I couldn't quite gather my thoughts and put them in order.

I wanted to bring up a topic I had previously prepared for a technical situation.

And I also wanted to commemorate a great engineer like Ersin Arıoğlu, raised by this modest republic.

The blind-eyed Eurasia Tunnel

The construction of the Eurasia Tunnel was one of the most difficult projects in the world.

Turkish engineers and contractors succeeded in building this tunnel in a short time.

Using a “tunnel boring machine” (TBM), they opened a hole from land and advanced into a blind environment beneath the sea.

Even though soil surveys had been conducted, anything could have appeared in front of them.

And by anything, I don't mean a Marmara bluefish or anchovy.

The soft ground, previously thought to be sand or clay, could have manifested in a very unfavorable nature.

That is when you might even want to die.

Such a situation can be understood, as we responded that way to the harakiri of a Japanese engineer during the construction of the Osmangazi Bridge.

Following a calculation error, he wrapped a cable that had snapped from the bridge tower around his neck, departing this world for the eternal realm and reaching God's mercy.

The shame experienced was already an obstacle to his survival.

At least according to Japanese culture.

To ensure a similar incident did not occur in the Eurasia Tunnel, the project manager, owner of the Yapı Merkezi construction firm, and great engineer Ersin Arıoğlu reviewed the calculations repeatedly at night and increased the motor power of the boring machine threefold.

It is a good thing he did, because while the machine was advancing under the sea, it encountered unexpectedly hard ground in one area.

If it hadn't been for Mr. Ersin's revised calculation model, the machine might have been abandoned to death under the Sea of Marmara.

The project would have been knocked out as well.

Because while a machine stuck in a land tunnel can somehow be rescued by opening a hole from the surface, one beneath the seabed cannot.

May God have mercy on Mr. Ersin and grant him a place in heaven.

He was a brother of ours who would be counted among the top 10 unforgettable engineers raised by modern Turkey.

The Republic will certainly raise others like Sezai Türkeş-Fevzi Akkaya, Ersin Arıoğlu, Şarık Tara, İdris Yamantürk, Üzeyir Garih, and Nihat Gökyiğit-Feyyaz Berker-Necati Akçağlılar again, though there is no guarantee.

It will raise them, but the intellectual and financial cost and the time it will take are unknown.

Although my purpose in writing this article is to bring the capability of Turkish engineering to light, my main goal is to increase the factor affecting the tunnel's traffic flow.

Even though the Eurasia Tunnel connects two continents under the sea, it has not fully solved the traffic problem.

The traffic density occurring on the tunnel's connecting roads and at the entrance and exit points prevents the tunnel from reaching its desired level of functional capacity.

The academic's affliction gnaws at my mind, wondering if I can find a solution to this problem.

I cannot help but think, “Would a solution like this work?”

It occurs to me that it would be a better solution if this tunnel were extended with underground connecting tunnel roads on land as well.

In addition to the existing line, tunnels to be built on the east-west line of Kazlıçeşme and Göztepe would relieve traffic in the Yenikapı and Kadıköy regions. If a vehicle reaching Göztepe on the Anatolian side could continue underground without ever surfacing and reach Pendik, the regional traffic would take a deep breath.

A similar application could be made to the west of Yenikapı.

If we follow the analogy of Bernoulli's water flow-pipe diameter calculation, we understand that even though we have a tunnel, the congestion on the approach and connecting roads slows down the speed both at the tunnel mouth and inside the tunnel, thus starting the traffic ordeal.

Since the tunnels I envision as a continuation of the undersea tunnel, to be built as a continuation on land, would have the same diameter, they would provide freedom in vehicle flow and the traffic problem would disappear.

Those who want more detailed information can type “Big Dig Boston” into Google to access all the information.

They can also call me.