US EditionItaly okays $15.5 billion project to build world’s longest suspension bridge from mainland to Sicily
STRAIT OF MESSINA, ITALY, AUG 7 – The €13.5 billion project is expected to create 120,000 jobs annually and reduce travel times across the Strait of Messina from hours to minutes, boosting southern Italy's economy.
- On Wednesday, Italy's government authorized a €13.5 billion venture to construct the longest suspension bridge ever, linking Sicily with the mainland.
- The project follows decades of planning, including a 2006 tender won by Eurolink, later canceled due to the eurozone debt crisis.
- The bridge will span 3.3 kilometers with two railway lines, three traffic lanes each way, and is designed to withstand high winds and earthquakes.
- Transport Minister Matteo Salvini described the project as an extremely impressive feat of engineering that has the potential to generate a substantial number of employment opportunities and reduce car crossing times to just 10 minutes.
- The project faces criticism for its cost and environmental impact, while Italy classifies it as defense spending to help meet NATO’s 5% GDP target.
257 Articles
257 Articles
It was intended to be the longest suspension bridge in the world, from the tip of southern Italy to, currently, the island of Sicily. But despite a government decision, it...
The project of the bridge over the Strait of Messina, to unite the island of Sicily with the peninsula, is one of the longest, most expensive and controversial works in Italian history. In the last half century, all the governments have taken care of it in one way or another, some to support with public funds the construction of the one that would be the longest hanging bridge in the world, and others to try to sink the plan definitively. The ex…
Italy Approves Construction of Europe’s Longest Suspension Bridge Linking Sicily to Mainland
Strait of Messina in Italy Credit: Wikimedia Commons Edd 48 CC BY SA 3 The Italian government officially approved the construction of the Strait of Messina Bridge, which will become Europe’s longest suspension bridge, on Thursday. The landmark infrastructure project will connect the island of Sicily to mainland Italy, and the bridge will feature a main suspended span of around 2 miles (3.3 km), surpassing Turkey’s 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, which cu…
Italy approves world's longest suspension bridge connecting Sicily. Why it matters
The approved 3.7-kilometre Messina Strait Bridge will surpass Turkey’s Canakkale Bridge as the world’s longest suspension span. With six car lanes, dual railway tracks, and the capacity for 200 trains and 6,000 vehicles per hour, the project is backed by €13.5 billion in state funding and a consortium led by Webuild, Sacyr, and IHI
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