The government Melon approved a decree, on the basis of which it is decided to build a bridge that will unite Calabria, with the island of Sicily.
The supervision, for the completion of the project, will be of the Ministry of Infrastructure, headed by the Secretary of the League, Matteo Salvini.
The bridge of the Strait of Messina is a project which in the past has been discussed almost countless times, causing party and intra-governmental confrontations. If the schedule that has just been approved this time can indeed be met, the works will start in July 2024 and are expected to be completed within five years.
This cable-stayed bridge will be 3.3 kilometers long (for the movement of cars and trains) and, as it is emphasized, “will be the longest in the world”. The main objective is to replace the current connection – which is carried out by ferry – and to favor the economic development of Lower Italy. The relevant decree of the government of Rome foresees that a special public company (the Società Stretto di Messina) will undertake the coordination of the necessary actions for the construction of the bridge.
Cost 7 billion euros
The total cost is estimated at 7 billion euros, which will be covered entirely by the Italian state. “We will make this great project a reality, we will impress the whole world”, it is underlined in a press release of the competent ministry. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica, however, writes that in the past, more than 300 million euros were spent on studies and the establishment of special companies with this specific objective, without delivering a single meter of the cable-stayed bridge to the citizens.
At the same time, according to many experts, it should be taken seriously that this is a seismic area, as well as that in bad weather conditions – especially with strong wind – access to the “Messina Strait Bridge” could not be possible. Finally, in order to be able to limit its length to 3.3 kilometers, an area must necessarily be selected which is quite far from the cities of Rigio in Calabria and Messina in Sicily, with the “risk” of continuing – in any case – to operate the current connections, via ferries.
Source: News Beast
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