The Italian government has approved the project to build a 3.3-kilometer suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina. It will be the longest suspension bridge in the world, connecting Sicily to the Italian mainland.

The project, scheduled for completion by 2032, has a price tag of € 13.5 billion. The arrival of the bridge, already a dream of dictator Benito Mussolini, is meeting with considerable protest.

Six lanes and two railway lines

The bridge, which has been on the table since the 1970s, consists of a 3,300-meter span and is designed to withstand strong winds and earthquakes. Supported by two 399-meter-high steel towers, the 3,666-meter-long bridge will have three lanes in each direction and two railway lines in the middle. The bridge will have a maximum capacity of 200 trains per day and 6,000 vehicles per hour.

With a main span of 2,023 meters, the Çanakkale Bridge in Istanbul, spanning the Dardanelles between Europe and Asia, is currently the longest suspension bridge in the world.

1,500 trucks a day

The contract for the project has been awarded to Eurolink, a consortium of international companies led by the Italian construction companyWSP (formerly known as  Webuil)d. It also includes the Danish engineering firm COWI, responsible for projects such as the Çanakkale Bridge and the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark. According to Webuild, the bridge is expected to have a lifespan of 200 years.

Currently, cars, trains, and pedestrians cross the Strait of Messina, between the Sicilian city of the same name and Villa San Giovanni in Calabria, by ferry – a journey that takes about 30 minutes.

The arrival of the bridge would immediately improve logistics connections between southern Italy and Sicily, two economically weak regions. Three new train stations would also be built.

According to the regional transport platform Siciliafan, around 1,500 trucks transport goods daily via the ferry connections at Palermo and Catania. That amounts to more than 30,000 freight movements per month, or more than 15 million tons per year. All Sicilian ports together handled a total of approximately 32.8 million tons of goods last year.

120,000 jobs per year

The Italian Minister of Transport and Infrastructure and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini calls the project a “historic step.” According to the Lega party politician, the bridge will generate economic growth and create tens of thousands of jobs in Sicily and Calabria, two of Italy’s poorest regions, which also suffer from sky-high youth unemployment – unemployment rates are twice the national average, at 13% compared to 6.5%. It would create 120,000 jobs per year.

Rome also hopes to finance part of the project through the defense budget, as the bridge is considered strategically important for the NATO base in Sicily. However, the symbolic vulnerability of the bridge for military purposes has also been pointed out.

Impact on bird migration routes

The construction of the bridge has been met with protests from critics who consider the price tag excessive and would rather see investments in education, healthcare, and public transportation. Environmental organizations are also voicing their concerns.

The region is known for strong earthquakes and powerful sea winds. Critics doubt whether the bridge is structurally safe, despite Eurolink’s claims about its design’s seismic resistance. Eurolink also claims that the bridge can withstand extremely high wind speeds, up to 292 km/hour.

Furthermore, environmental groups argue that the environmental impact assessment is incomplete. Crucial data are said to be missing on, among other things, traffic forecasts, air quality modelling (with additional CO2 emissions due to increased freight traffic), and the impact on bird migration routes – 4 to 46% of the 4.3 million migratory birds would be at risk of collision. The Natura 2000 areas in the Strait of Messina are also said to be insufficiently protected.

On the mafia’s radar

There are also several lawsuits against the project, including one concerning alleged violations of transparency and competition rules. Several complaints have also been filed with the Italian Competition and Market Authority (AGCM) about alleged positions of power within the consortium and the contract procedures.

Italian anti-mafia specialists also note that the legislation governing large infrastructure projects has weaknesses that enable mafia infiltration. For example, the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (DIA) has already indicated that the Messina bridge is on the mafia’s radar.

The project still requires approval from the Italian Court of Auditors, but no significant difficulties are anticipated.