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Italy seeks to build world's longest suspension bridge, but mafia and geography could make it difficult

2023-05-01 17:01:21Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Italy seeks to build world's longest suspension bridge, but mafia and
Strait of Messina bridge project

The dream of a bridge connecting the rest of Italy with Sicily, across the Straits of Messina, goes back to Roman times. At the time, the consul Metellus is thought to have joined barrels and wood to move 100 war elephants from Carthage to Rome in 252 BC. Since then, there have been many plans for how this canal could be more easily crossed, including the idea of ​​a tunnel . If the project for a bridge is realized, it would become the longest suspension bridge in the world.

In 2006, the bid to build the bridge was awarded to a consortium led by the Italian firm Salini Impregilo, today WeBuild. When Berlusconi's government left that year, plans to build the bridge fell through, as the incoming prime minister, Romano Prodi, considered it a waste of money and a risk to the environment. But last month, Giorgia Meloni's government decided to revive the old plan. 

Italy seeks to build world's longest suspension bridge, but mafia and

"The bridge over the Strait of Messina is a project that can start immediately. Once the contract is reinstated, the project can begin. Executive design is expected to last eight months, while the time needed to build the bridge will be a little more than six years," WeBuild's director of engineering, Michele Longo, told CNN.

The cost of the project is estimated to be 4.5 billion euros for the bridge alone and 6.75 billion euros for the infrastructure on both sides of the bridge. The latter includes the improvement of road and railway axes, the construction of terminals and the carrying out of preparatory work on land and on the seabed, to reduce hydrogeological risks during construction.

Challenge with the mafia and relief

The plans seem concrete and clear, but the challenges are complex. Southern Italy is prone to corruption and the two main organized crime syndicates, the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta and the Sicilian 'Cosa Nostra', are often infiltratingly involved in construction projects. The arrest of Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro after 30 years represented a victory. Denaro was opposed to building the bridge, as were several other mob bosses, in part because organized crime syndicates feed on poverty and underdevelopment.

Despite this, the fear remains. It is likely that parts of this project will fall under criminal control and therefore communities in these local areas will ask the state for money and protection. However, Meloni's government has ensured that the best Italian, European and world companies will be engaged in this major project, guaranteeing through the supervisory bodies that every euro will be invested in this bridge.

However, in addition to this problem, there are also some geophysical problems that can be even more difficult to face. The Strait of Messina lies along a tectonic fault line where a 7.1 earthquake in 1908 killed more than 100,000 people and triggered a tsunami that devastated coastal areas on both the Calabrian and Sicilian sides. It remains the deadliest seismic event recorded in Europe to date.

Italy seeks to build world's longest suspension bridge, but mafia and

Also, the waters are murky and the currents very strong. According to WeBuild's original plan, the bridge will be built to withstand winds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. There will be three vehicle lanes in each direction and train lines in between. According to the current plan, 6,000 cars and trucks can pass every hour and 200 trains can pass every day.

The bridge will be about 74 meters above sea level and will allow cargo ships and taller ships to pass under it. The bridge will also be designed to withstand a magnitude 7.5 earthquake, slightly stronger than the devastating 1908 one.

Italy seeks to build world's longest suspension bridge, but mafia and

The construction phase alone would contribute 2.9 billion euros to the national GDP and employ 100,000 people, most of whom will come from the regions of Sicily and Calabria, where unemployment rates are high.

Destructive to wildlife

Criticism has not been absent from environmentalists who have argued for a long time that the bridge will be destructive to the terrain and wildlife.

"The Strait of Messina is a very important place of passage for birds and marine mammals, and it stands out for a very rich biodiversity. Therefore, the construction of this bridge would destroy the migration routes of animals between Africa and Europe", declared the environmentalist group Legambiente.

Public opinion on both sides of the strait remains ambiguous. Some think that despite these challenges, the bridge would greatly develop trade, economy and tourism. While others are categorically against, having no problem with Sicily remaining in some form of isolation. However, the bridge has never been so close to construction as it is now, after Meloni signed the decree to pave the way for the implementation of concrete plans.

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