Italy Greenlights World’s Largest Suspension Bridge to Sicily

A monumental infrastructure project, long stalled by controversy, is moving forward as Italy paves the way for the construction of the world’s largest suspension bridge, set to connect the mainland with Sicily.

Massive Project Gains Momentum

The ambitious Strait of Messina Bridge, a €13.5 billion ($24.2 billion) undertaking, has navigated years of debate concerning its vast scale, seismic risks, environmental impact, and the persistent shadow of organized crime. Italy’s Transport Minister, Matteo Salvini, declared it the biggest infrastructure project in the West.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed the bridge as an engineering symbol of global significance. Minister Salvini projects the initiative will generate 120,000 jobs annually, stimulating economic growth in southern Italy, complemented by billions in associated road and infrastructure investments.

Timeline and Technical Marvel

With approvals from Italy’s court of audit anticipated soon, preliminary construction activities are slated to begin between late September and early October. Full construction is expected to commence next year, with an estimated completion between 2032 and 2033.

The concept for the Strait of Messina Bridge dates back to proposals first solicited in 1969, but it has been approved and subsequently canceled multiple times throughout its history. The current Meloni administration revived the project in 2023, marking its most advanced stage yet.

Salvini described the project as an absolutely fascinating engineering project from a technical perspective. The bridge will span nearly 3.7 kilometers, featuring a main suspension span of 3.3 kilometers, surpassing Türkiye’s Çanakkale Bridge—currently the longest—by 1,277 meters.

The design incorporates a wing profile and a fuselage-like deck with apertures to manage wind flow, a concept similar to the Çanakkale Bridge. Once operational, the bridge will accommodate three lanes of traffic in each direction and a double-track railway, with a capacity for 6,000 cars and 200 trains daily, dramatically reducing travel time across the strait from over an hour to just ten minutes by car.

Bridge Classification Sparks Debate

The Italian government intends to classify the bridge as defense-related infrastructure, potentially contributing to its commitment to meet NATO’s defense spending target of 2% of GDP. This classification, argued by the government as a strategic corridor for troop movement, has drawn criticism from over 600 professors and researchers.

Opponents have raised concerns that such a designation could make the bridge a military target and requires further assessment for military-grade resilience. Salvini acknowledged the dual-use intention but deferred the final classification to the relevant ministers.

Addressing Security and Environmental Concerns

The project’s reactivation decree granted the Ministry of the Interior oversight on anti-mafia measures. However, the nation’s president advocated for maintaining existing anti-mafia legislation, applicable to all major infrastructure projects, to ensure robust controls.

Salvini assured that preventing organized crime involvement is paramount, vowing adherence to protocols similar to those used for Expo 2015 and the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. We need to pay attention so that the entire supply chain is impermeable to bad actors, he stated.

Webuild, the awarded industrial group, has highlighted that suspension bridges are inherently less vulnerable to seismic forces, citing examples in seismically active regions like Japan, Türkiye, and California. Environmental groups have submitted complaints to the European Union regarding potential impacts on migratory birds, questioning the project’s public imperative and offsetting measures for environmental damage.