Sicily could get world’s longest suspension bridge by 2033

Italy envisions a bridge to Sicily

Sicily is the large island in southern Italy. If you picture Italy in your mind, Sicily is the island right off the tip of the boot. It’s the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The idea of physically linking Sicily to the mainland goes back to ancient times—even the Romans thought about it. But for centuries, ferries have been the only way across.

But now, if Italy’s government gets its way, you’ll soon be able to drive or take a train from the mainland. That’s because the Italian government has approved plans for a new bridge to cross the Strait of Messina. Total cost: €13.5 billion.

The bridge would connect the towns of Messina, in Sicily, with Villa San Giovanni, in the mainland region of Calabria. Its current design calls for six lanes of traffic and two railroad tracks. At 3.3 kilometers, it would be the world’s longest suspension bridge, beating the current record holder by over 1,000 meters. If all goes well, construction will finish sometime between 2032 and 2033.

The bridge is being championed by Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni. She argues that now is the right time to build the bridge. Right now, the only way to get from the mainland to Sicily is to take a ferry—it’s a 20 minute ride, but if you add time to wait for the next scheduled service and to get on and off the boat, it can take well over an hour.

The bridge would cut that travel time to just 10 minutes. Sicily has its own rail lines; and of course mainland Italy has an extensive rail network. But there is no fixed link between them. This bridge would finally offer a high capacity connection between Sicily’s rail network and the rest of Europe. The bridge would be able to move 6,000 cars and 200 trains per day.

But there are some big challenges. The Strait of Messina has strong currents that change direction often, sometimes several times a day. That makes it tricky—and risky—to build and maintain foundations. They have to be strong to resist the movement of the currents.

The Strait is deep, too. And that adds to the difficulty, since the bridge’s supports would have to reach far below the surface. Building in water so deep, and with such strong currents, means engineers will need more specialized equipment, and more time.

Then there’s the mafia. Organized crime is active in both Sicily and Calabria, and critics worry these organized crime groups could siphon off money from large construction contracts. The government says the bridge will use the same anti-mafia protocols that worked for Expo 2015 in Milan and that are in place for the upcoming Winter Olympics. But not everyone is convinced.

The biggest concern might just be the cost and complexity. The last time Italy seriously considered building the Messina bridge was in 2011, and the price tag then was €8.5 billion. That project was cancelled due to cost; this one is far more expensive. Italy’s opposition parties say the bridge proposal is a waste of money. One opposition leader called the bridge a “cathedral in the desert” and says that the money would be better spent on road maintenance, existing railways, and health care.

And there’s no guarantee that the current budget will actually be enough. Mega projects like this routinely go over budget, often way over budget. Germany’s Berlin airport opened nine years behind schedule and billions of euros over budget. Residents of southern Italy don’t want the same thing to happen in their backyards.

If anything does go wrong, it’s the residents of Messina and Villa San Giovanni who would suffer the most. The mayor of Villa San Giovanni said she thinks the bridge will just cause problems for her town.

Environmentalists also oppose the project. The bridge’s construction would consume a lot of water, and southern Italy is already prone to droughts. The bridge could hurt migrating birds. Others are unhappy that the bridge’s enormous 399-meter-tall towers would permanently alter the landscape.

Still, this is the furthest the Messina Bridge has ever come to being a reality. The next step is for the national audit court to review the project. Then there are archaeological and geological surveys, and land expropriations to work out: The bridge is set to displace up to 4,000 people. The government will compensate them, but some are already planning to challenge the action in court. They won’t be alone: Several environmental groups have also filed lawsuits.

Jeff’s take

You can take a train to Sicily, but not the way you might think. Trains from the mainland roll onto a ferry at Villa San Giovanni in Calabria. Because a ferry isn’t as long as a full train, the train has to be split into sections.

Here’s how it works: the train rolls forward onto the ferry, a few cars are uncoupled, then it rolls back. Forward again with the next section onto a parallel track, uncouples, rolls back — until all the cars are on board. They’re lined up side-by-side on parallel tracks. At the other end, the process runs in reverse to put the train back together.

The first passenger train ferry crossed the Strait of Messina in 1899. It’s a quirky bit of rail history, but also slow and labor-intensive. Around the world, most train ferries have been replaced by bridges or tunnels. The Messina crossing is one of the last of its kind in Europe.

If the bridge gets built, then one of the world’s last train ferries will disappear.