An artist’s rendering of the €13.5-billion Strait of Messina Bridge.Webuild / Eurolink Image Library
A bridge between Sicily and mainland Italy has been a dream of various civilizations on the Italian peninsula since the ancient Roman era, and an on-again, off-again project since the late 1960s. On Wednesday, the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took another shot at the elusive infrastructure scheme by approving the construction of the €13.5-billion Strait of Messina Bridge.
With a span of almost 3.7 kilometres, it will be the world’s longest suspension bridge and a crucial tool for the economic development of Italy’s struggling deep south, as well as an essential component of the country’s national security, the government and the bridge’s main contractor say.
“This is a work that has no precedent in the world,” Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, said at a news conference in Rome after the approval was granted. “I’m absolutely proud of the work we’ve done so far.”
But the bridge has no shortage of detractors among citizens and environmental groups. The WWF and other environmental associations this week filed a complaint with the European Union, arguing that the enormous project could easily damage the Strait of Messina ecosystem by disrupting migratory bird routes and marine habitats.
They also note that the bridge will be built in a potentially devastating seismic zone. The Strait of Messina earthquake in 1908 was the deadliest in European history. It almost completely destroyed the cities of Messina, where the new bridge will terminate in northeast Sicily, and Reggio Calabria on the mainland. About 80,000 people were killed. As late as 2021, some families were still living in wooden barracks that were erected in 1909 as temporary shelters for the earthquake victims.
Others worry about Mafia infiltration. The Mafia in Southern Italy – the Cosa Nostra in Sicily, the ‘Ndrangheta in Calabria, in the “toe” of Italy, and the Camorra in and around Naples – have made fortunes since the Second World War on large construction projects and their supply of materials such as cement and steel. Mr. Salvini, who is also Italy’s Transport Minister, has dismissed these concerns, saying the project will be the “largest anti-Mafia operation ever” and will see contractors carefully screened for corrupt activities.
Italian Vice Premier and Minister of Transport Matteo Salvini has dismissed concerns about Mafia infiltration, insisting contractors will be carefully screened for corrupt activities.Andrew Medichini/The Associated Press
Despite the risks, the government and the bridge’s prime engineering and construction contractor, Webuild of Rome (formerly Salini Impregilo), say the bridge will transform the economically poor south, delivering a lift to the entire country. The company says the construction phase will generate more than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs.
“It will stimulate growth, employment and lawfulness across Southern Italy,” said Webuild chief executive Pietro Salini, with “lawfulness” an apparent reference to the job opportunities that will help discourage young men and women in the high-unemployment south from seeking illegal work, such as undocumented farm labour.
Building a link between Sicily and the mainland has been contemplated at various times since Rome was expanding its empire more than 2,000 years ago. Roman author and philosopher Pliny the Elder, who died in AD 79, wrote about a plan to build a span using a bridge supported by boats and barrels.
The scope of the project will make it one of the biggest of its kind in the world. The bridge will have three traffic lanes in each direction, two railway tracks and two service lines. The steel towers will reach almost 400 metres in height, and some 40 kilometres of roads and rail lines, including three train stations, will be built on both sides of the strait to feed train, car and truck traffic onto the bridge. Eurolink, the general contractor led by Webuild, says the project will see 16.5 million cubic metres of earth excavated on both sides of the strait.
Sicilians are divided on the project. Some think it will introduce mass tourism and overdevelopment to an island rich in history, cultures, unique traditions, architecture and language. Sicily has been invaded by the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Berbers, Saracens, Normans and, in the Second World War, the Allies.
The Italian government and the bridge’s main contractor say it will be an essential component of the country’s national security.Webuild / Eurolink Image Library
“The bridge will probably be a disaster for Messina, worse than the 1908 earthquake,” said Nino Mostaccio, a restaurant owner and president of Slow Food Messina, referring to the construction upheaval that could jolt the city between now and 2032, when the project is scheduled to be completed.
Others welcome the jobs that will be created and the potential boost to economic activity as the island forges a direct, high-capacity and speedy link to the rest of Europe.
“I think the bridge will be a project that people from all over Europe will come to see,” said Daniele Mauro, a Sicilian lawyer who works for the Ministry of Justice. “It will be a project that will boost the economy and change Sicily in the European sense, making it more modern, more advanced and less tied to antiquated logistics.”
Ms. Meloni sees another advantage. She is promoting the project as a way to help Italy meet the new NATO commitment to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence within a decade (Italy currently spends less than 2 per cent). The pledge allows member states to reach that goal by devoting as much as 1.5 per cent of GDP to strategic infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, that could be used for military purposes such as delivering missile systems close to conflict zones.
The bridge will be one of the biggest of its kind in the world, with the steel towers reaching almost 400 metres in height.Supplied