When the Republic of Türkiye was declared in 1923, there was a total length of 18.350 km of the road network, including 13.900 of macadam road and 4.450 km of dirt road with 94 bridges within our national borders. In the Republic's first years, railway construction, which was the most modern technology of the period, gained importance. However, after a while, the railway was not enough by itself, and the highway construction needed to be accelerated to reach the transportation goal of the country. Therefore, In 1929, The Headship of Macadam and Bridge was established under the Ministry of Public Works. From then on, highway construction works were accelerated according to the National Highway Policies. As a result of the construction works between 1923 and 1947, the road network reached 43.743 km in total. In 1948, a breakthrough was made in the field of construction techniques then the period of road works based on digging up, shovels and human power were replaced by industrial machines. After taking inventory of existing routes, a road network that would meet the needs of Turkey's transportation was specified and determined. In March 1950, The General Directorate of Highways (KGM) was established with the motivation that all these activities should be directed and managed by a dynamic organization within a specific plan and program framework with contemporary and technical methods. General Directorate of Highways aimed to reach every corner of the country initially. Between 1950-1960, the first purpose of the works was to make the roads accessible in all seasons to take public services such as health and education. Due to the gradual construction system, roads were improved according to the density, and the main routes were constructed around the cities. As a result of the dynamic institutional principles and the mechanized works, the road network reached 60.000 km by the1960s. Due to increasing traffic volume and the demand for more comfortable roads, asphalt pavement became essential to road construction between 1960-1970. With the development of the motor vehicle industry in the 1970s, the requirement for high-standard multi-lane expressways and motorways, especially in high-volume traffic roads and large cities, came to the fore. KGM realized its first implementations with the project of the Bosphorus Bridge, İstanbul Ring Road, and İstanbul-İzmit Expressway. Known as the Strait of Istanbul, the 15 July Martyrs Bridge (Bosphorus Bridge) connected the continents of Asia and Europe for the first time in 1973. In the 1980s, the General Directorate of Highways initiated a new era of constructing high-standard motorways and highways for better accessibility. During these years, KGM implemented the projects of Gebze-İzmit, Tarsus-Pozantı, and Kapıkule-Edirne motorways to provide a faster and more comfortable journey and also completed the construction of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, which connected the two continents for the second time. In the 1990s, KGM continued to construct high-standard motorways and improved the quality of the road network. As a result of the planned and intense work program, the total highway length, which was 241 km in 1990, increased to 1.674 km in 2000 and 1.714 km in 2002. At the beginning of 2003, the priorities of Türkiye's road transport, based on national and international network integrity and traffic safety, were determined with the Emergency Action Plan. In the framework of that plan, KGM accelerated the construction of divided highways and put many projects into service across Türkiye. As a result, the length of the multi-lane divided highway network reached 28.546 km by December 2021. In the years following 2010, to meet the need for Türkiye's road transport, large-scale projects were built with alternative financial resources in addition to the public resources. Of these projects, built by the BOT system, Istanbul-İzmir Motorway and Osmangazi Bridge, Menemen-Aliağa-Çandarlı Motorway, Ankara-Niğde Motorway, Northern Marmara Motorway and Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge make significant contributions to provide network integrity comfortably and more safely. KGM, which makes excellent investments in a high standard of road network, implemented many other essential projects in every part of the country. With the projects of Amasya Peripheral Road, Kahramanmaraş-Göksun Highway, Konya Peripheral Road, Black Sea Coastal Road including Ordu Nefise Akçelik Tunnel, Bursa and Aydın Peripheral Motorways, Ovit Tunnel Tohma Bridge, Kömürhan Bridge, Hasankeyf-2 Bridge, Yenikent-Temelli Highway, Zarova Bridge, Pirinkayalar Tunnel, Türkiye's road integrity reached to the level of developed countries. Moreover, the megaproject of Malkara-Çanakkale Motorway and 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, which connects Europe and Asia for the sixth time, have been implemented recently and contributed to the quality of highway network in Türkiye. KGM has been managing and constructing new and significant projects to provide an uninterrupted journey and contribute to the regions for economic and social prosperity. Of these projects, the Başakşehir-Bahçeşehir-Hadımköy section of the Northern Marmara Highway and Sazlıdere Bridge and Aydın-Denizli Motorway is being constructed with a public-private partnership. In addition to these great works, the Zigana Tunnel, which will be the longest dual-tube road tunnel of Türkiye and Europe, and the Mediterranean Coastal Road are some of the other essential projects that are being implemented in different parts of Türkiye. General Directorate of Highways under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure currently has a total length of 68.761 km road network, including 3.633 km of motorways.
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