The Otoyol (Plural: Otoyollar) is the national network of controlled-access highways in Turkey. The network spans as of 2023 and was first opened in 1973. Another term for the system is Otoban, which is a popular but unofficial term transcribed from the German word autobahn. The term Otoyol translates to motorway while the literal meaning is auto-route. The Otoyol system previously consisted of three separate networks; the Edirne-Istanbul-Ankara corridor, the Aegean network centered around İzmir, and the Southeastern network centered around Adana. With the completion of the O-5 in 2019 and the extension of the O-21 in 2020, these three networks have since been connected. The network is expected to expand to by 2053. The minimum speed limit on the Turkish otoyols is while the maximum speed is . History The construction of a national road system was prioritized in 1948, where the construction of new roads were greatly accelerated. This led to a rise in automobile usage in Turkey. By the 1960s, traffic problems were becoming prevalent in large cities and capacity on intercity roads needed to be upgraded. Plans to build new expressways were put into action in 1968, when construction of the Istanbul Inner Beltway was started. The Beltway, known as the O-1, was opened together with the Bosporus Bridge in 1973 with great fanfare. This became the first motorway to be built in Turkey. The Istanbul Beltway was then to be a part of a large expressway spanning from Edirne, in East Thrace, to İskenderun, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Construction of this expressway first started in 1973 on a section between Pozantı and Akçatekir, on what would become the O-21. In 1975 construction of a section of the motorway from Gebze to Izmit was started. Due to financial problems during the following years, construction of the two otoyols were greatly slowed down. It wasn't until 1984 that these two motorways were opened to traffic. Turgut Özal became Prime Minister in 1983 and brought forth a policy of constructing new otoyols in Turkey. In 1985, construction of an intercontinental motorway spanning from Edirne to Ankara was started. This motorway project would serve as an outer beltway round Istanbul and also included the construction of a second bridge over the Bosporus, the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. The first section of the motorway, the long Edirne Beltway, was opened in 1987, followed by the opening