After decades of red tape and delays, the government of Italy has finally signed off on the project to build a suspension bridge to connect Sicily to ‘mainland’ Italy via the Strait of Messina.
The project is set to start soon, and the main developer behind the project says it should be ready by 2033.
It’s set to cost taxpayers at least $15.6 billion.
And it’ll also set a new record.
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It’ll be the world’s longest suspension bridge
Italy has several islands. But the two main ones are Sicily and Sardinia, which also happen to be the largest and second-largest islands in the Mediterranean.
The thing is, Sicily and Calabria, the nearest region on the mainland, are separated by a little over 2 miles of water.
Which we’ve handily illustrated below – Sicily as seen from aboard a train in Calabria.
As things stand, you can either fly from mainland Italy to Sicily, or you can board a ferry.
The new bridge will have two railway lines and six lanes of traffic, significantly reducing traveling times and connecting two regions.
For reference, Sicily is one of those places where you can buy a home for €1. But that’s simply because the region is trying to attract residents and investments, especially to rural areas.
As for the bridge, according to Webuild – the company that’s in charge of the project – it should be completed by 2033.
It would also set a new record by becoming the longest suspension bridge in the world, surpassing Turkey’s Canakkale Bridge.
The main potential issue for bridge-building
When China decided it needed to cut through a mountain to build a bridge, engineers got it done in three years.
Well, Italy isn’t exactly like that.
The country is perfectly capable of building expensive and complex infrastructure projects – one such project is partially why Jeff Bezos had to anchor his yacht away from Venice. But that’s generally the exception.
And the Strait of Messina bridge is one of those conversations that Italians have been having for decades.
The idea of a bridge across the Strait of Messina has been debated since at least the 1960s, with serious proposals in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
All have been shelved, chiefly due to bureaucracy and funding issues.
Maybe this is the right time, but we’ll find out in about a decade.
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