Bridge over the Strait of Messina: project, timing and length. When will the work start?

Bridge over the Strait of Messina, this time the government is serious.
The Council of Ministers approved, subject to agreement, the decree law containing "urgent provisions for the creation of a stable connection between Sicily and the Continent".
In detail, these are seven articles which, as reported by Ansa, range "from the corporate structure and governance to the final provisions".
The Meloni government has thus put in black and white what will be the new structure of Stretto di Messina Spa, the concessionaire founded in 1981 and now dusted off by the centre-right after being put into liquidation by the second Conte executive.
“RFI, Anas, the Sicily and Calabria Regions participate in the Stretto di Messina Spa company – we read in the text – as well as, in an amount not less than 51%, the Ministry of Economy, which exercises the rights of the shareholder by agreement with the Ministry of Infrastructure, to which the functions of direction, control, technical and operational supervision are attributed".
The project of the bridge over the Strait of Messina thus essentially ends up in the hands of Matteo Salvini, with the MIT being able to appoint the extraordinary commissioner of the work and, together with Palazzo Tesoro, two of the five members of the Board of Directors, namely the president and the CEO, with the remaining positions to be designated by the Sicily Region, the Calabria Region and RFI-Anas.
On 30 September, the Eurolink consortium led by the Webuild Group delivered the documentation updating the definitive project to the Stretto di Messina company, described as "the culmination of years of coordinated work by hundreds of engineers, technicians, university professors and researchers".
On 16 October 2023, the Council of Ministers approved the 2024 budget law where, according to the words of Matteo Salvini, "there is full coverage for 12 billion, now we will have discussions with the EIB, but here we go".
Let's see what the project for the bridge over the Strait of Messina is, the length of the work and what the estimated times are for starting the works according to Minister Salvini.
As far as costs are concerned, however, we refer you to our in-depth analysis which can be read via the box below.
read also Bridge over the Strait of Messina: how much will it cost to build? Bridge over the Strait of Messina: construction times In Italy, a bridge over the Strait of Messina has been talked about for over a century and a half.
In fact, the first projects date back to the second half of the nineteenth century, but an acceleration occurred only in 1981 with the establishment of the Stretto di Messina Spa dealership.
We know well how it ended: no project has ever seen the light despite already having cost to the pockets of taxpayers a whopping 1.2 billion according to an estimate made by Corriere della Sera.
Now, however, the new government seems to have clear ideas on how to proceed, so much so that in the draft law decree it also indicates a date with "the provision that the executive project will be approved by 31 July 2024".
“It will be the most eco-friendly and green work in the world – declared Matteo Salvini at the time of the launch of the decree at the beginning of March, speaking on RTL frequencies -.
The objective is to start with the work within two years and then complete it within five-six years." In September 2023, the minister showed himself to be more than confident: "the timetable is following all the planned stages, therefore the commitment to open the construction sites on both sides by summer 2024 is a commitment that at this moment we are absolutely capable of maintain".
Now that Eurolink has presented the documentation updating the definitive project to the Stretto di Messina company, positive assessments will be needed regarding the environmental impact and then the general one on the entire executive project.
In addition to the bureaucracy, the Bridge also has the problem of financing: to open the construction sites in the summer of 2024, coverage of 12 billion was included in the budget law, even if the first three installments were spread over the time horizon of the first three years.
go out.
The project and length of the bridge The project of the bridge over the Strait of Messina was born from the desire – and the need – to create a stable road and railway crossing that could unite Sicily with Calabria and the rest of Italy and Europe.
The initial project created during the second Berlusconi government envisaged a single 3.3 kilometer span, but then a study commission deemed it unsafe due to the V-shaped seabed of that stretch of sea between Sicily and Calabria, without consider that it is a highly seismic area characterized by strong winds.
At the time the contract was won by the Eurolink consortium, now in dispute with the State after the liquidation of Stretto di Messina Spa but which could renounce compensation if it were awarded the new project.
Eurolink has now presented the updates to the project, so let's see what the bridge over the Strait of Messina will look like according to what is reported in the official note issued by the consortium.
“The work is destined to become the longest suspension bridge in the world, with a total span of approximately 3,660 meters and a central suspended span of 3,300 metres.
Its platform, technically called a deck, will have a total width of approximately 60 metres, and the two towers placed on the ground, which will support the entire structure, will reach a height of 399 metres.
The structure will accommodate two road carriageways with three lanes in each direction (two travel and one emergency) and a double-track railway line, allowing a flow of 6,000 vehicles per hour and up to 200 trains per day, revolutionizing the mobility of the area and the entire Southern Italy.” As stated by Antonio Tajani, the bridge over the Strait of Messina could be named after Silvio Berlusconi, the recently deceased former prime minister who worked hard for the work when he was at Palazzo Chigi.