This bridge will connect mainland Italy to Sicily (Image: Waybuild)
An £11 billion mega-project linking mainland Italy to Sicily is finally going ahead after decades of debate. A long-planned bridge across the Strait of Messina has received final government approval, with preliminary work starting in 2026. If completed, it will become the longest suspension bridge in the world.
The Strait of Messina Bridge would span approximately 3,666 meters (about 2.2 miles) from end to end, with the main suspended span being 3,300 meters (about two miles). This would make it much longer than the current record-holder, Türkiye’s 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, which has a main span of 2,023 metres.
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The project is expected to cost between €13.5 billion and €16 billion (about £11 billion to £13 billion), described by Italy’s Transport Minister Matteo Salvini as “the largest infrastructure project in the West”.
The suspended deck will hang from cables stretched between two towers 399 meters (1,309 ft) high, taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Unlike most record-breaking suspension bridges, the Messina Crossing is designed as “multimodal”.
The plans include six lanes of road traffic, two railway tracks, emergency lanes, service lanes and pedestrian paths. It is expected to handle 6,000 vehicles per hour and around 200 trains per day.
The bridge will be 72 meters above sea level, allowing large cruise ships and cargo ships to pass beneath.
The Strait of Messina Bridge would span approximately 3,666 meters (Image: Waybuild)
Construction will be led by a consortium called Eurolink, which will be led by Italian engineering giant webuild.
The design consists of four main suspension cables, each approximately 1.26 meters thick and made of over 44,000 individual steel wires.
Pietro Salini, chief executive of Waybuild, said the bridge would be “transformative for the entire country”.
He said the “great infrastructure project” would be spread across multiple sites in southern Italy “to boost growth, employment and legislation.” The project will be equipped with the most advanced technologies for safety and maintenance.
The Italian government has described it as “a strategic piece of infrastructure for the development of both the Mezzogiorno and the entire country, as well as of pre-eminent national importance for the completion of the trans-European transport network”.
The Strait of Messina is located in a highly active seismic zone (Image: Getty)
However, the project faces serious challenges. The Strait of Messina is located in a highly active seismic zone and was the site of a devastating earthquake in 1908.
A 2023 study in the Basin Research Journal warned that “active fault interactions and stress transfer need to be included in seismic risk analyses”.
Study co-author Rebecca Dorsey said: “This is a changeable, dynamic scenario, and there is huge risk.”
Environmental concerns have also been raised, as the strait is an important migration route for birds and marine life.
There have been long-standing concerns about rising costs and possible involvement of organized crime, although the government says strict legal protocols are in place.
If construction continues on schedule, the bridge is expected to open to traffic in 2032 or 2033.
