The Italian government on Aug. 6 approved the construction of the world’s longest single-span bridge, linking the mainland to the island of Sicily.
The structure, crossing the Straits of Messina, would be 2.3 miles long, breaking the record (for longest single span) currently held by Turkey’s 1915 Canakkale Bridge, which connects Europe and Asia across the Dardanelles.
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said the project would be “an accelerator for development” in southern Italy, known as the Mezzogiorno.
Preliminary work could begin later this year, with construction expected to start in 2026.
The idea of building a bridge to connect Sicily to the rest of Italy has been under discussion since the 1960s, and has been seen as a way of developing the south of the country.
But there have long been concerns over earthquakes, the cost, and the threat of the Sicilian and Calabrian mafias siphoning money out of the project.
Meloni’s government, which came to power in 2022, has made the bridge a priority and has set aside $15.63 billion over the next 10 years for the bridge and associated roads and railways.
The bridge would be for road and rail, with three traffic lanes in each direction and two rail tracks with side walkways.
The Strait of Messina Bridge project has been awarded to the Eurolink consortium—which is led by the Webuild Group—following an international tender process.
‘Transformative’ Project
In a statement posted on Clough Group’s website on Aug. 6, Pietro Salini, chief executive of Webuild, said, “Today, Italy has shown once again how it can come together around a mega project that will be transformative for the whole country.”Salini said the decision “marks the start of a new season of vision, courage and confidence in the capabilities of Italian industry and the entire infrastructure sector.”
In 2023, Webuild appointed Gianni De Gennaro, a former head of the Italian police and undersecretary of state for intelligence and security services, as president of Eurolink.
Webuild has estimated that 100,000 jobs could be created during the construction phase, which it says could last until 2032.
Sacyr took part in the widening of the Panama Canal expansion, and IHI has been involved in building the Akashi Kaikyo suspension bridge in Japan—a key link between the main island of Honshu and the island of Shikoku—and the Osman Gazi bridge in Turkey.
Sicily and, on the other shore, Calabria, are home to two of Italy’s biggest organized crime networks, which are divided into smaller family and clan-based factions.
La Cosa Nostra, in Sicily, and Calabria’s ‘Ndrangheta have in the past siphoned money from government contracts.
Last week, Salvini told reporters the project could not proceed until the national audit court validated the decision by CIPESS.
The current longest single-span construction, the 1915 Canakkale Bridge—which was built in 2022—is six miles long in total, but its longest single span is 1.25 miles in length.
The 1915 in its name is a reference to the year of Turkish victory over British, French, Australian, and New Zealand forces in the Battle of Gallipoli—which is near Canakkale—during World War I.
