Italy to build world's longest suspension bridge to Sicily

A 3,666-metre-long bridge is set to connect Sicily to mainland Italy, which, if built, will be the world’s longest suspension bridge.

Estimated to cost €13.5 billion (£11.8 billion), the bridge’s suspension will span 3,300 metres across the Strait of Messina and accommodate both road and rail transport.

The project is being developed by a consortium led by Italian construction company Webuild and, according to the Strait of Messina company, is expected to be completed in 2032.

If built, the Strait of Messina Bridge will surpass the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey as the world’s longest single-span bridge.

According to Webuild, the bridge forms “the heart” of a larger infrastructure development set to include more than 40-kilometres of new roads and rail lines, three underground stations and ten viaducts across Sicily and Calabria.

The bridge’s structure will be formed of two 399-metre-tall steel towers with a suspension system, consisting of cables 1.26-meters in diameter and 5,320 metres in length, in an “engineering first”.

A 60-metre-wide bridge deck will have six vehicle lanes and two railway tracks travelling in both directions, with a capacity of 6,000 vehicles per hour and 200 trains per day.

According to Webuild, the Strait of Messina Bridge will be designed to withstand earthquakes and extreme winds and be built “according to the highest international engineering standards”.

“One of the most challenging projects in the world”

Approval for the project was given by Italy’s Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development (CIPESS) yesterday, after a decades-long delay due to environmental and financial concerns. Plans for the bridge were initially discussed in the late 1960s.

“The Bridge will bring about a great infrastructure project spread out across many work sites contemporaneously,” Webuild CEO Pietro Salini said. “It will stimulate growth, employment and lawfulness across southern Italy.”

“Talented Italian engineers, managers and workers from the sector will finally have the possibility to work in their home country on one of the most challenging projects in the world.”

Elsewhere, Egypt’s transport minister Kamel al-Wazir has announced that plans are progressing for a bridge connecting Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and the Maryland Transportation Authority has released designs for the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild in Baltimore.

The photo of the Strait of Messina is by Edd48 via Wikimedia Commons.

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