Italy to Link Sicily, Mainland With Record-Setting Bridge

Italy cleared the way on Wednesday to build the world's largest suspension bridge, one that will link the Italian mainland with Sicily. The Strait of Messina Bridge will be "the biggest infrastructure project in the West," Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said at a news conference in Rome, after an interministerial committee with oversight of strategic public investments approved the massive $15.5 billion infrastructure project, which has been long delayed by debates over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental impact, and the specter of Mafia interference. What you need to know, per the AP:

• Economic boon: Salvini cited studies showing the project will create 120,000 jobs a year and accelerate growth in economically lagging Southern Italy, as billions more in investments are made in roads and other infrastructure projects accompanying the bridge.
• Timing: Preliminary work could begin between late September and early October, once Italy's court of audit signs off, with construction expected to start next year. Despite bureaucratic delays, the bridge is expected to be completed between 2032 and 2033, Salvini said.
• History: The Strait of Messina Bridge has been approved and canceled multiple times since the Italian government first solicited proposals in 1969. Premier Giorgia Meloni's administration revived the project in 2023, and this marks the furthest stage the ambitious project—first envisioned by the Romans—has ever reached.

• Stats: "From a technical standpoint, it's an absolutely fascinating engineering project," Salvini said. The Strait of Messina Bridge would measure nearly 2.2 miles, with the suspended span reaching more than 2 miles, surpassing Turkey's Canakkale Bridge, currently the longest, by 4,189 feet. The New York Times reports it would connect Messina in Sicily with Villa San Giovanni in Calabria.
• Travel impact: With three car lanes in each direction flanked by a double-track railway, the bridge would have the capacity to carry 6,000 cars an hour and 200 trains a day—reducing the time to cross the strait, typically done by ferry, by up to 100 minutes, to just 10 minutes by car. Trains will save 2/12 hours in transit time, Salvini said.
• The NATO angle: The project could provide a boost to Italy's commitment to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP targeted by NATO, as the government has indicated it would classify the bridge as defense-related, helping it to meet a 1.5% security component. Italy argues that the bridge would form a strategic corridor for rapid troop movements and equipment deployment to NATO's southern flanks, qualifying it as a "security-enhancing infrastructure." Opponents also say the designation would potentially make the bridge a target.
• Earthquake concerns: The Times notes that a 1908 earthquake caused all but 10% of Messina's buildings to collapse and killed roughly half the city's residents. Webuild, the Italian group that will construct the bridge, has emphasized that suspension bridges are structurally less vulnerable to seismic forces. It noted that such bridges have been built in seismically active areas, including Japan, Turkey, and California.