After the new metro line was approved by the city's Monument Protection Board and the tunnels relating to it had been completed, the Metropolitan Municipality put out a tender for the construction of the bridge.

By 2005, a total of 21 proposals had been submitted to the Monument Protection Board, but none was found to be sufficiently in harmony with the city's skyline.

[3] It was built by a partnership between the Italian firm Astaldi and the Turkish Gülermak Ağır Sanayi İnşaat ve Taahhüt A.Ş.

For example, the discovery of a Byzantine-era vault on the Unkapanı/Küçükpazarı side of the bridge during excavation works for the pier foundations necessitated a redesign of the project.

[3] The design of the swing bridge operator's command building also had to be revised when the wall of a Byzantine-era basilica and a graveyard on the same bank came to light.

[3] On the Unkapanı/Küçükpazarı side, a 120-metre-long (390 ft) swing bridge - essentially a cantilever structure - permits passage for large ships.

[8] Chambers of architects and city planners, as well as many citizens, complained that the plans originally approved by UNESCO had been changed without permission.

[8] However, now that the Metro is open fewer complaints are heard, and the Haliç station and walkways have eased communication between the areas on either side of the bridge for non-car owners.