Historic bridge in Turkey's west collapses during restoration

An almost 600-year-old historic bridge in the Aegean province of Ayd?n will be rebuilt after it collapsed this past January during restoration works. 

The bridge over the Dandalaz creek in the Karacasu district of Ayd?n, which also boasts the ancient city of Aphrodisias nearby, collapsed on Jan. 30 during renovations.

The bridge, which was built in 1426 on the order of Ottoman Sultan Murad II, began undergoing renovations in September 2014. The bridge was suspended with a system weighing 120 tons of steel, but a part of the bridge collapsed in a landslide in January, a report prepared by authorities stated. 

Mustafa Büyükyap?c?, the mayor of Karacasu from the Republican People's Party (CHP), said the collapse had led to the destruction of the historic texture of the area. 

"A catwalk and abutment were installed under the bridge when the restoration works started. The catwalk and bridge collapsed with the floodwater. Our bridge, whose stones had been numbered one by one and kept, suffered great damage while many of its stones probably went missing with the flood," Büyükyap?c? said.

Stating that the contractor and the relevant state authorities needed to be punished for the incident, Büyükyap?c? said no attempt had been made in this regard. 

Abdurrahman Çabuk, the chairman of the Çabuk Construction Company, the contractor company which was responsible for the restoration, said neither the company nor project was at fault for the collapse, adding that they had withdrawn from the process as a new project was needed for the restoration of the bridge. 

"A piece with a length of 30 meters, height of 15 meters and width of five meters broke off due to floodwaters and crushed the catwalk's leg. With the flood, the...