Otoyol 30

Construction of the O-30 was started in 1988 in order to relive traffic on the congested D-550, which was the only direct north–south road at the time. Along with relieving inner-city congestion, the O-30 was planned to be a connecting hub for two other motorways under construction at the time. The first section of the motorway was opened to traffic on 12 December 1993, between Karabağlar and Işıkkent.[2] This 18 km (11 mi) long section provided an alternate route around the city from Gaziemir (south Izmir) to Bornova (east Izmir) as well as connecting to the O-31, which opened its first section on the same day. Construction of the O-30 slowed down over the next years, due to financial difficulties. Construction of the southern half of the O-30 progressed faster than construction of the northern half. On 10 July 1997, the O-30 was connected to the D-300, which was the main east–west trunk road and on 15 August 1998, the 2.5 km (1.6 mi) long section between Karabağlar and Uzundere was opened to traffic. In 1999, connection to the Izmir Bus Terminal was opened on the 10 April, followed by the 5 km (3.1 mi) long section between Uzundere and Balçova, which was opened on 30 April. The motorway was finally connected to the O-32 on 6 August 2002, via a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) viaduct through Balçova, thus completing the southern half of the O-30.[2] Due to the slow progression of its northern half, the O-30 was nicknamed the motorway that will never open (Turkish: Açılmaz otoyol) and residents of Izmir started to protest the delay.[3] Construction was sped up in 2006 and in January 2007 the 12.6 km (7.8 mi) section between Bornova and Karşıyaka along with two tunnels was opened. Construction progressed at a steady pace over the next years as the O-30 was extended from Karşıyaka to Çiğli on 15 June 2008.

• List of highways in Turkey