By DESMOND BUTLER Associated Press

Associated Press

Turkey is for the first time connecting its European and Asian sides with a railway tunnel set to open Tuesday, completing a plan proposed about 150 years ago.

The tunnel is one of several large infrastructure projects under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government that have helped boost the economy but have also provoked a backlash of protest.

The tunnel runs 1.4 kilometers (4,593 feet) under the Bosporus, the straight that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and divides Istanbul between Asia and Europe. Turkish officials say that at more than 55 meters (yards) below the sea floor, it will be the deepest submerged railway tunnel in the world.

Officials hope that with a 1.5 million passengers a day, it will ease some of Istanbul’s chronic traffic.

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First Test Train through the Marmaray