Italy wants to build the world's longest suspension bridge, CNN reported.
The dream of a bridge connecting the mainland to Sicily across the Straits of Messina goes back to Roman times, when Consul Metellus strung together barrels and wood to move 100 war elephants from Carthage to Rome in 252 BCE, according to writings by Pliny the Elder.
If built, the bridge across the Straits of Messina would span 3.2 kilometers and would be the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Now the massive engineering project might actually be realized, thanks to a decree passed by the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni last month after Transport Minister Matteo Salvini revived a plan last pushed forward when Silvio Berlusconi was prime minister.
The cost of the project is 4.5 billion euros ($4.96 billion) for the bridge alone and 6.75 billion euros ($7.4 billion) for the infrastructure to support it on both sides, which includes upgrading road and rail links, building terminals and doing the prep work on the land and seabed to “reduce hydrogeological risks” during construction, according to the plan presented to the transportation ministry.
The plans may seem well advanced, but the challenges are complex.
Southern Italy is prone to corruption with two major organized crime syndicates—the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta and the Sicilian Cosa Nostra—excelling in infiltrating construction projects.
An anti-Mafia from study from the Nomos Centre think tank published 20 years ago and now being updated warned parts of the project, such as transport and supply could fall under criminal control, as well as there being the possibility local mobs could demand protection money.
There are also geophysical problems that may be even more difficult to contend with.
Environmentalists have long argued the bridge would be devastating to the terrain and wildlife.
The World Wildlife Fund has also campaigned against reviving the project.
The environmental groups contend that the half-hour ferry is the least disruptive route.
But this bridge has never been as close to being built as it is now, after Meloni signed the decree to pave the way for concrete plans to be put in place. The decree will become law in June, and Salvini said he hopes to break ground by July 2024.
