Italy’s Parliament is expected this week to approve a start on building the long-discussed, long-delayed, often-abandoned project to span the Strait of Messina, connecting Sicily to mainland Italy with the world’s longest suspension bridge.
An idea considered by Romans, and by Charlemagne and even Napoleon, the project has been scheduled for a start several times in the 20th and 21st centuries, but has been canceled each time for lack of funds or political issues. Most recently, a nearly-started project was dropped in an austerity drive in 2013.
It has been revived by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who set aside 13.5 billion euros ($15.7 billion) for it. The bridge, using an update of the 2013 plans, is for a suspension bridge 3.6 kilometres (2.2 miles) long between the Sicilian city of Messina and the Calabria region. If it starts soon, according to Webuild, the company assigned to the project, it would be ready in 2032.
The bridge is planned as a two-deck bridge with lanes for cars and trucks on one level, and rails on the other.
