There is a popular saying in Italian – similar to how Anglophones use “when hell freezes over” – which translates as “I will do this when the bridge to Messina is completed”.
The dream of a bridge connecting the mainland to Sicily across the Strait of Messina dates back to Roman times, when the consul Metellus tied barrels and wood together to move 100 war elephants from Carthage to Rome in 252 BC, according to writings by Pliny the Great. Old.
Since then, various plans, including an ephemeral idea for a tunnel, have come and gone – like water under a bridge.
If built, the bridge over the Strait of Messina would be 3.2 kilometers long and would be the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Now the massive engineering project can actually be realized, thanks to a decree passed by Giorgia Meloni’s government last month after transport minister Matteo Salvini revived a plan last put forward when Silvio Berlusconi was prime minister. .
In 2006, the tender for the construction of the bridge was awarded to a consortium led by the Italian company Salini Impregilo, today called WeBuild.
When Berlusconi’s government fell that year, plans to build the bridge fell through with his government after the next prime minister, Romano Prodi, deemed it a waste of money and a risk to the environment.
Since then, several governments have tried to revive him, and the current ruling coalition of Meloni, Salvini and Berlusconi has put him on their campaign pledge list. When Salvini became transport minister, he made it his priority, staking his legacy on the bridge.
WeBuild, which still has the tender on paper, sued the government for breach of contract after the project was paused, but remains the company most likely to get the work back despite “outpourings of interest from around the world, including China,” Salvini told the Foreign Press Association in Rome in March when he presented the plan.
“The ones that won the 2006 tender are the ones that are likely to continue with the final version of the project,” he said, without quoting WeBuild directly.
WeBuild’s director of engineering, Michele Longo, was invited to parliament to speak about the revived plan on April 18.
“The bridge over the Strait of Messina is a project that can start immediately. Once the contract is reinstated and updated, the project can start,” Longo told parliament.
“The executive project should take eight months, while the time needed to build the bridge will be just over six years.”
The cost of the project is 4.5 billion euros (about R$24 billion) for the bridge alone and 6.75 billion euros (about R$37 billion) for the infrastructure to support it on both sides. , which includes upgrading road and rail links, building terminals and prep work, on land and under the sea, to “reduce hydrogeological risks” during construction, according to the plan submitted to the Ministry of Transport.
Since 1965, 1.2 billion euros (about R$6.6 billion) in public funds have been spent on feasibility studies, according to the Italian treasury department. Salvini likes to say that it will cost more “not to build the bridge than to build it”.
Fault lines and crowd
The plans may seem quite advanced, but the challenges are complex.
Southern Italy is prone to corruption, with two major organized crime syndicates – Calabria’s ‘Ndrangheta and Sicilian Cosa Nostra – prominent in infiltrating construction projects.
The recent arrest of Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro, after 30 years on the run in Sicily, represented a victory.
Denaro was against building the bridge, as were some other mafia bosses, according to testimonies of informants who contributed to Denaro’s arrest, in part because organized crime syndicates feed on poverty and underdevelopment.
Despite this, fears remain. An anti-mafia study by the think tank Nomos Center published 20 years ago and now being updated warned that parts of the project, such as transport and supplies, could fall under criminal control, as well as the possibility of local mafias demanding money for protection.
Salvini played down the concerns. “I am not afraid of criminal infiltration”, he told parliament recently, “we will be able to guarantee that the best Italian, European and global companies work there. There will be oversight bodies that we are working on for every euro invested in the bridge.”
There are also geophysical problems that can be even more difficult to tackle.
The Strait of Messina lies along a fault line where a 7.1 earthquake in 1908 killed more than 100,000 people and generated tsunamis that devastated coastal areas on the water sides of Calabria and Sicily. It remains the deadliest recorded seismic event in Europe to date.
The waters are also turbulent. The currents are so strong that they often rip algae from the sea floor and change every six hours, according to NASA, which notes that the strong wave patterns are visible from space.
According to WeBuild’s original project, which is the only one currently under study, since the tenders were not, and may not be, open, the bridge deck would be built to withstand winds of up to 300 km/h – and could remain open to traffic with winds of up to 150 km/h.
There would be three vehicle lanes in each direction – two for traffic and one for emergency, with rail lines in between. Under the current plan, 6,000 cars and trucks could pass per hour and 200 trains per day.
The bridge would be about 74 meters above sea level and would allow a navigation channel of 600 meters, allowing the passage of freighters and even the tallest cruise ships. It would also be designed to withstand a magnitude 7.5 earthquake, slightly stronger than the devastating one in 1908.
The construction phase alone would contribute 2.9 billion euros (about R$16 billion) to the national GDP and would employ 100,000 people and 300 suppliers, Longo told parliament, adding that “the majority of these people would come from the regions of Sicily and Calabria, where unemployment rates are high”.
On the geographic challenges, Longo told CNN which is “one of the most dynamic water straits anywhere between the depths and currents, but it is also one of the most studied areas. There are millions of pages of studies dedicated to this area. We read them all. On the dangers of organized crime involvement, he said “nothing is impossible, but it is low risk”.
“Devastating” for wildlife
Environmentalists have long argued that the bridge would be devastating to the terrain and wildlife.
“The Strait of Messina, a very important transit point for birds and marine mammals, contains one of the greatest concentrations of biodiversity in the world”, says a spokesman for the Legambiente group, adding that the bridge – during and after construction – would interrupt migratory routes between Africa and Europe.
The World Wildlife Fund also campaigned against resuming the project.
“The entire Strait of Messina area is a protected area under the European Union (EU) Habitats Directive,” WWF Director of Institutional Relations Stefano Lenzi said in a statement.
In 2006, before the plan was shelved, the group was preparing a lawsuit to try to stop it for violating EU protected areas.
Environmental groups claim the half-hour ferry is the least disruptive route.
The post-bridge impact on the economy would be indisputably high, Salvini insists, saying cargo ships from Asia could dock in Sicily and these goods could be transported by high-speed trains to Europe once high-speed rail was built. in Sicily – although they currently do not exist.
Public opinion on both sides of the strait remains mixed, with those in a position to prosper through increased trade and tourism easier generally supporting it and those who don’t mind keeping Sicily isolated largely against it.
The bridge has never been closer to being built than it is now, after Meloni signed the decree to pave the way for the execution of concrete plans. The decree will become law in June, and Salvini said he hopes to start by July 2024.
The Strait of Messina has long been equated with turbulent waters.
Homer created the sea monsters’ lair for Scylla and Charybdis for a reason. And while the only monsters might be eco-friendly and criminal, there’s no doubt that no matter when that happens, the dream of some to build the bridge to Messina won’t be ended until it’s completed.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
